Mr BJ corners Jason Hobson 23/9/3
hobbo
By Mr Bow Jangles
October 6 2003
Ex Wadebridge Camel Hobbo who has several votes for biggest drinker does his best to shed the tag, tells about his mates uncanny balancing tricks with beer glasses & he'd like to be a short actor & does his best to put Hunty in an unassailable lead for worst dressed! pic c/o official site again
THE
BOW FILES: JASON HOBSON
Personal Stats
Name: Jason Dean Hobson
Age: 20
Date of Birth: 10/2/83
Place of Birth: Birmingham
Nickname: Hobbo
Position: Prop
Weight: 17st 10
Height: 5’11
Playing
Career
Bristol
Shoguns (2003 – present)
Full Apps: 4, 2 tries
League Apps 3, 1 try
Club/1st XV debut: 15/8/03 v Newport A (won 15 – 14)
League debut: 7/9/03 v Penzance & Newlyn H (won 34 – 7)
Exeter
Chiefs (2001 – 2003)
Representative
ENG U16, U18, U21 (3 caps inc. WC in England)
Background
Family:
Dad: David = Runs a Stud farm
Mum: Melanie = Runs a Stud farm
Sister: Lisa = Sales Advisor
Sister: Nicola = Computer Engineer
Sister: Charlotte = At College wants to be a Show Jumper
Step Brother: David = At College wants to be an RAF Pilot
Step Brother: Ryan = Graduated from Leeds Uni with Nuclear Science degree
Girlfriend: None
Schools/Colleges/Uni
§ Lighthall School, Birmingham
§ Bodmin Community College
§ Truro College
Rugby Clubs
§ Weybridge Camels (as a No.8!)
Questions
Bow:
What are your first impressions of the Club?
Hobbo: “Well I came here and I didn’t know what to expect. I got here and all the boys arrived here at pretty much the same time I think, and it was all so welcoming and a really really good craic.”
Bow:
Are you surprised to be an ever-present so far in the side?
Hobbo: “I always knew it was going to be between me and Skusey, I guess it was just a lucky break because he was going to be fighting all the way. He had a bad injury on his knee and I just nipped in there.”
Bow:
Is the rivalry strong between you and Skusey?
Hobbo: “No, we get on really well he’s a really nice guy but we haven’t trained together yet so I really wouldn’t know. His injury happened in the summer so I did all the pre-season on my own.”
Bow:
Talk us through your try against Fiji?
Hobbo: “Well it was just a set call, driving lineout we managed to get the ball back and I nipped in for one!”
Bow:
What’s it like living with Freddie (Adam Billig)?
Hobbo: “Who’s that? Freddie Mercury? Oh… Jason Biggs, Stevo (from Jackass!). He never cleans! He never does anything unless I tell him to!! He’s dirty! He’s a dirty housemate!!”
Bow: How do you think your social debut for the club went (at the supporters/players night out after the pre-season cricket match)?
Hobbo: “Ah! It was quite good in the Walkabout I thought!!”
Bow: You remember much about the Palm Tree!!?
Hobbo:
“I can’t remember much to be honest!! I’ve heard lots of stories!
(laughs). I’ve only been out once more since then…I haven’t been out after
that!”
Bow: What inspires you to play rugby?
Hobbo:
“Its just from when I moved to Cornwall I didn’t really have much to do, I
was bored so my old man spoke to someone and I went and played for Weybridge.
They just put me in at 8! I then had a trial a couple of months after for
Cornwall”
Bow: You had a trial with Cornwall a couple of months after you started playing!!!
Hobbo:
“Yea, it was about 6 months. They put me at prop and told me I would never
make anywhere at 8!! I then went on to play England 16s.”
Bow: Did you always want to be a Rugby player?
Hobbo:
“Before I played rugby after I finished school, I was going to go in the army
but it just went the other way for me. England U16s said I could probably give
it a go if I worked hard enough, so I thought well I’ll give it ago for a
couple of years and see if it pans out. Its gone alright for me so far…. with
a few lucky breaks!”
Bow: Who do you look up to in the club?
Hobbo:
“It’s pretty hard to look up to someone here because they are all pretty
much the same age as each other. Hilts is funny, he’s a great Captain but
there’s noone really to look up to. There’s no egos, no big heads
everyone’s just there to play and try and play together, there’s noone
really who stands above the rest.”
Bow: Who’s the best player in your position in England and the World?
Hobbo:
“That’s a tough one that because there’s a few people who do different
things. Vickery is good round the park, but then there is Califano who will just
anialate anyone in the scrum.”
Bow: So do you model your play on a particular person?
Hobbo:
“No not really”
Bow: Anyone you’d like to be like?
Hobbo:
“Tom Cruise!!!”
Bow: Who would you most like to meet in World Rugby?
Hobbo:
“I’d like to meet Wilkinson just to see what he is like. He’s a great
rugby player and I’d like to see what he is like off the pitch.”
Bow: What are your aspirations in rugby?
Hobbo:
“I want to get a first team England cap, that’s my long-term goal.
Short-term I want to get into the first team and play every game.”
Bow: Who’s the worse and best dressed player at the club?
Hobbo:
“Worse dressed has to go to Pritch (Psychologist) and for a player it would be
either Hunty or Stylesy just because he dresses camp! Best dressed would be
Bails and Dodgy, if you like that kind of stuff!!!”
Bow: Who’s the joker in the squad?
Hobbo:
“There’s a few of us… there’s a lot I couldn’t really name one!!”
Bow: Who’s the quietest member of the squad?
Hobbo:
“That’s a tough one that. There’s not really anyone who is always
quiet.”
Bow: Who’s coping the most banter at the moment?
Hobbo:
“Ollie Hodge…Tow bars!!”
Bow: How is playing for Bris different from Exeter?
Hobbo:
“You’ve got so much more freedom to play your style. At Exeter it was always
set patterns, you had to do this…you had to do that. Obviously we have set
calls here, but after a couple of phases you can play it off the cuff. That’s
instead of 8 different set moves you have to go through playing for the
Chiefs.”
Bow: Other than Richard Hill who would you like to be coached by?
Hobbo:
“Clive Woodward.”
Bow: What irritates you most about rugby?
Hobbo:
“You get stereotypes with the women a lot being a rugby player.
Bow: What are those?
Hobbo:
“Its like ‘nah you’re a rugby player, can’t go anywhere near you’! So
normally I’m a dolphin trainer or a pilot!!”
Bow: What do you think of the City of Bristol? And its fans?
Hobbo:
“Well to be honest I’ve only been out about twice, three times and I
haven’t been into the main part of Bristol yet. I’ve been to the Walkabout
and PAMPAMs and that’s the only places I’ve been.
As
for the fans, all the people I have met so far seem really nice and they just
want to get more involved with the players, rather than just going to the bar
chatting to other supporters and then leaving, they said they have never mixed
with the players before.”
Bow: What would you do if you were not a rugby player?
Hobbo:
“I’d be a soldier in the army.”
Bow: Who would you have bought with you from Exeter?
Hobbo:
“I did, I bought my best mate with me (Neil Clarke). Other than him I’d have
bought Dave Sims, he’s a top boy.”
Bow: Have you got any pre/post match rituals?
Hobbo:
“I always have to get a rub of my hamstring and calves and I always put a
little bit of tape on my arm, I don’t know why…I used to have a cut there
and started taping it and I just carried on!”
Bow: What do you enjoy most about being a professional rugby player?
Hobbo:
“The banter with the boys.”
Bow: And are you a giver or a taker!?
Hobbo:
“(laughs) I’m a giver definitely!”
Bow: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Hobbo:
“My weakness is I get cut too easily! My strengths? That’s tough…. my
head, I have a hard head!!”
Bow: How do you relax away from rugby?
Hobbo:
“I watch DVDs (points over at a mountain of them in the corner!!). I also go
to the cinema and play on my playstation!”
Bow: What did you think about all that happened at Bristol last year?
Hobbo:
“Well it looked like B*th or Bristol were going to go down and that a merger
may have happened. I think its wrong, you need relegation as it is now…it
gives you something to play for, otherwise you’re just playing for the
money.”
Bow: Have you met the Consortium?
Hobbo:
“I knew Rob Clivert before I even joined Bristol, he coached me at South West
U18. We met all the others in a big meeting and we had a chat with them. They
seem like nice guys.”
Bow: What do you think of the prospects for Bris this season?
Hobbo:
“Ideally we would like to finish in the top 5, but we need to stay up first
and foremost to build a platform.”
Bow: How did you’re joining Bristol come about?
Hobbo:
“Neil spoke to Paul Hull (who coached him for England Students) at the club
who spoke to Pete Johnson, but Pete already knew about us. Pete knew us both
from Cornwall anyway. Pete spoke to me a year earlier about joining Bristol but
I had already signed a one-year deal with Exeter. Exeter were keen to keep me
but I needed to get full time training.”
Bow: What’s your funniest moment in rugby?
Hobbo:
“When I was 16 I played in a cup competition for Weybridge, it was 10 minutes
before the end of the game and one of my best friends was supporting. He had a
pie in one hand and a pint in another hand and he fell down a bank and broke
both his ankles! He was at the bottom of this bank, covered in stinging nettles
and he hadn’t spilled a drop!!”
Bow: What’s your darkest moment in rugby?
Hobbo:
“Not getting selected for the U21s 5 nations.”
Bow: Who do you owe most to for your career?
Hobbo:
“Robin Cowlin, ex-Leicester and England player. He was forwards coach at
Exeter.”
Bow: Who will be the surprise package of the squad this year?
Hobbo:
“That’s a hard one because everyone has so much talent, I wouldn’t like to
answer that one to be honest. It would be such a hard decision to make. Loads of
the boys would be pushing for that one.”
Bow: Where did it all go wrong versus Birmingham?
Hobbo:
“We were on a big high after Penzance and I think we had a really poor week in
training. I think the boys were a bit blaze thinking ‘all we need to do is
turn up’ but that wasn’t the case! This week has been a massive improvement.
In
the game I don’t think they were better than us up front, they were just more
experienced. A lot of the boys who are playing now have only played 21s rugby
and a few of them have sat on the bench for B*th or Bristol and they’ve never
actually played against senior teams like that. Now we know what we’re
expecting and I’d back the boys 9 times out of 10.”
Bow: What do you think of our prospects against Coventry?
Hobbo:
“Hopefully very good! I played against them for Exeter twice; we drew with
them at home and beat them away. They’re good at home, pretty hard to beat and
their packs not small!!”
Bow: Have you got a message for the fans?
Hobbo:
“Yea, just get down and get behind us as much as you can. I’ve never run out
in front of a crowd of 4000 every game!”
World
Cup
Semis:
New Zealand v Australia, England v France
Final:
New Zealand v England
Winner:
New Zealand
Dark
Horse: Ireland
Favourite?
Colour?
Red
Food?
Steak
TV
Programme? Eastenders
Footy/Cricket
Team? No
Film?
Predator
Drink?
Grape high juice
Woman?
Liz Hurley
Music?
R&B
Desert
Island? Liz Hurley
Describe
yourself in 3 words? Young, Up for it, Keen
Either/Or
Lager/Bitter?
Lager
Eastenders/Corry?
Eastenders
Nurse/Teacher?
Nurse
Footy/Cricket?
Cricket
Rock/Dance?
Dance
B*th/Glos?
Glos
White/Vickery?
Vickery
Curry/Chinese?
Chinese
Night
in/out? Out
Beach/Snow?
Beach
Australia/New
Zealand? New Zealand
Brittney/Christina?
Both!
Bum/Boobs?
Bum
Mullet/Crewcut?
Crewcut
Cat/Dog?
Dog