Newcastle Falcons have secured the services of yet another talented academy product, with the news that England Under-18s half back Joel Hodgson has signed professional terms.
Hodgson helped England to a Grand Slam in the Under-18s Home Nations Championship in 2010, as well as steering RGS Newcastle to the Twickenham final of the Daily Mail Schools Cup.
Falcons head coach Alan Tait said: "Joel is undoubtedly a very talented kid, and he now has his chance to see how he goes training in the professional environment this season.
"He has played scrum half for England Under-18s, but has been at fly half for his school and for much of his junior rugby.
"At the moment I'm seeing him as a number ten who can learn from the likes of Jimmy Gopperth and Jeremy Manning, but as time goes on we'll see how that works out because he obviously has the ability to slot in at nine as well.
"Either way he's an extremely talented local lad, he has excellent footwork, good ball skills and hopefully in the professional environment we can build on those natural assets for the good of the club."
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