Cliffie Hodgson pays tribute to real hero Jacques Le Roux...

COVENTRY star Cliffie Hodgson has deflected credit for his match-winning performance at Tynedale to the club’s real hero, bereaved No. 8 Jacques Le Roux.

Less than two hours before Cov were due to kick off in Corbridge the South African-born back row received a telephone call telling him his father had been drowned on holiday.

Shell-shocked Le Roux insisted on playing and went on to have a storming match, his best in a Coventry shirt, as the visitors won 23-22.

But they required Hodgson’s last-minute touchline conversion to secure an emotional victory, which he instantly dedicated to his compatriot.

“It was an incredible feeling, the first thing I saw was all my team-mates running over to me, it was unbelievable,” the 23-year-old recalled. “At the end I walked over to Jacques and I just burst into tears, it was such an emotional moment.

“Before the game when we heard the news the atmosphere changed, it was so sad. We knew we all had to stick together on the pitch.

“We knew what it would mean if we could come away with a victory – there are more important things than a game of rugby, but at the time we just really wanted to do it for him.

“Jacques said to me after the game that he had been praying for that kick so that we could win the game, I am so happy it went over.”

It almost didn’t happen, though. Cov were 22-16 down eight minutes into injury time when they worked a try for wing Thomas Harris. However, it was Le Roux’s performance that proved so remarkable and Hodgson paid tribute to the 28-year-old.

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