Hodgson wary of Munster’s Lions
Hodgson got to know the Munster forward at first hand this summer on the Lions' tour to New Zealand and O'Callaghan left a lasting impression on the England fly-half.
"He was the main man of the Lions tour," Hodgson said. "The one who was at the centre of all the jokes. A fantastic guy, I don't know what he's going to say to me before the start of the game, but I'm prepared for some banter.
"It's like his life, he's into the joking scene but also into the serious side of the game. I reckon we're going to have a drink after the game, come what may."
If there is a player Hodgson can relate most to however, it is his rival fly-half tonight, Ronan O'Gara.
The pair were rivals throughout the Lions tour in New Zealand, but were firm friends by the time the 45-man squad limped home from the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Each went on that Lions tour as outsiders for the Test fly-half berth but put in performances that eclipsed the more illustrious No. 10s in the party, Jonny Wilkinson and Stephen Jones.
By the time head coach Clive Woodward recognised the errors of his ways, Hodgson was ruled out through injury and O'Gara featured in the last 15 minutes of the final Test against the All Blacks.
Both men have been used to playing second fiddle O'Gara often to David Humphreys for Ireland; Hodgson behind Jonny Wilkinson in the queue for an England shirt.
Yet, Hodgson persevered and never believed he should be number two or three.
"I had a lot of encouragement from various quarters. I worked on my fitness, I worked on my goal kicking and I now feel that I am in a position to challenge for the English number 10 jersey.
"Jonny is a fantastic player, but I can't spend the rest of my life wondering what might happen in the future. It's about getting on with things, all about developing myself as a player. If I'm good enough, I will get the rewards. If I'm not, good enough, then I will have to try harder."
There have been allegations that the central playmakers, normally out halves, are selfish creatures. Hodgson disagrees. "We're judged, all of us, on what we do. My strength is apparently on goal kicking, but I would like to think also that I'm a pretty good distributor of the ball.
"The bottom line is that you have to be all things to all men; you have to work on the strengths of the team rather than the individual.
"You have to forget that there is an opposing out half there; opposing flankers wanting to knock you over, and hope that if there are no individual options, you can put guys into space to create scoring opportunities.
"I know how it feels. I started off in the centre and was always waiting for the ball. It gets frustrating when that happens so I know how it feels.
"My view of the game is that I should always try to make it a 15 man effort. Sure, circumstances dictate that it can't be done always; sometimes games are won or lost on penalties or drop goals, but the ideal situation is to have a good, open game where the better side win."
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