Dave Hodges

First encountered rugby while Belmont Shore shared the field used by his high-school football team.

Entered Occidental for football, discovered rugby as a freshman and became a two-time All-American in both sports.

Joined OMBAC in 1995 and helped win the 1996 national championship.

Represented the Eagles at Taiwan Sevens alongside OMBAC teammates Ray Green, Dan Lyle, Dennis Gonzalez and Joe Santos; Mike Saunders coached.

Event archiveUSA at Taiwan Sevens · October 1995View archive ↗

The U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame records 53 caps across his 1996–2004 Eagles career, playing in the back row and at lock.

Played two spells with Llanelli and a season with Bridgend, establishing a substantial professional career overseas.

Selected for Hong Kong Sevens while playing professionally for Llanelli; the named squad photograph also includes Malakai Delai and trainer Ed Ayub.

Event archiveUSA at Hong Kong Sevens · March 1998View archive ↗

Played in the Rugby World Cup; a captioned action photograph records him facing Australia’s Michael Foley.

Event archiveDave Hodges and Michael Foley · 1999 World CupView archive ↗

Captained the Eagles 28 times, setting a national captaincy mark later surpassed by Todd Clever.

Received Player of the Year recognition at Llanelli, including players’ and supporters’ awards.

Combined playing with strength-and-conditioning duties and represented his teammates during negotiations over Welsh rugby’s regional structure.

Played 44 professional and international matches in a twelve-month period—a striking measure of his workload for club and country.

Career contextDave Hodges · USA rugby portrait, 2002View archive ↗

Led the Eagles at the World Cup as the USA defeated Japan 39–26. His archive includes a ball-carrying photograph against Scotland.

Event archiveDave Hodges · carrying against Scotland, 2003 World CupView archive ↗

Closed his international playing career against France in a hard-fought 39–31 defeat.

Began a new chapter as Collegiate All-Americans head coach and USA assistant coach, with high-performance and game-development responsibilities.

Named USA Rugby Athlete of the Year.

Coached the Denver Barbarians for two seasons, bringing his professional and international experience back into American club rugby.

Served alongside Alex Magleby and Chris Wyles on the review team recruiting the next Eagles head coach. The role extended his influence from captaincy to program leadership.

Inducted into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame.

As Men’s Eagles general manager, supported national assessment camps and team operations; the official 2019 World Cup media guide names him in that role.