Western Force veteran Matt Hodgson is as tough as they get but even he couldn’t hold back the tears as he mourned the death of his beloved rugby team.

Hodgson has broken his nose 33 times. He’s undergone three shoulder reconstructions, two knee reconstructions and two ankle reconstructions.

He’s lost count of how many times he’s been left battered, bruised and bleeding on a rugby field. Once, he almost had his ear ripped off.

Hodgson is well accustomed to wearing physical pain without so much as a whimper.

But Hodgson was a broken man on Tuesday morning when it was revealed the Force’s appeal to stay in Super Rugby had failed in the NSW Supreme Court.

The Force will live on in billionaire Andrew Forrest’s new Indo-Pacific rugby competition but to won’t be the same.

One of the hardest aspects to swallow for Hodgson is the fact the Force was culled by the people he looked up to as protectors of the game – the Australian Rugby Union.

Hodgson has been a source of immense strength for Western Force players during the ARU’s drawn-out saga to axe a team.

But when he looked across at his teammates while fronting the media on Tuesday, Hodgson couldn’t hold back the tears.

“You see in the back, the people …,” Hodgson stammered before breaking down.

“You see what it means to the people. You’re here for 12 years serving a state, serving a country. And they take it away (because) of a stupid lettering of the law.

“But we’re lucky we’ve got people here fighting. People at the ARU didn’t fight for us.”

Hodgson is angry the ARU hierarchy because they continue to ignore his pleas for a full explanation behind their reasons for cutting the Force.

So again, Hodgson has reached out, inviting ARU chief executive Bill Pulver and chairman Cameron Clyne to join him for dinner later this week.

“They speak to the media, speak to others about player welfare. But again, a phone call would be nice and a reason would be even nicer,” Hodgson said.

“Apparently, there’s a Test match on this weekend that both of them are watching.

“I’m free Friday night if they want want to come over for dinner and we can talk about these decisions.”

Hodgson doesn’t want Force fans to boycott the Wallabies Test against South Africa.

Instead, he’s urging them to wear their blue Force jersey to the game.

“Either blue, or probably black – a day of mourning,” Hodgson said.