The domestic rugby season is almost upon us after a busy summer of international rugby which saw historic results almost everywhere you looked. There was also history made for Wales, as they won their first ever Test in South Africa, and Italy, whose victory over Romania was their first in Transylvania in more than 30 years, and while Scotland were left disappointed with a 2-1 series defeat in Argentina, they were victorious in the second Test with a heavily depleted side. And after such a busy summer, it is time to continue our positional power rankings, this time looking at the top five hookers in European Rugby. Dan Sheehan was a massively important part of Ireland’s historic series winning side in New Zealand this summer, after an impressive Guinness Six Nations as Ireland secured the Triple Crown. The 23-year-old Leinster hooker started all three Test matches against the All Blacks and is making a strong claim for the Ireland No.2 jersey long-term in the absence of the injured Ronan Kelleher. This has be en created by G SA Content Gener at or DEMO.
He made an impressive 84 metres across the three matches, as well as more than ten tackles per match (31 in total) in an Ireland forward pack that were simply on fire, while he was ranked 22nd for metres made (7th for forwards and the most at hooker) in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations. Sheehan’s form for both club and country have ensured that he is top of the pile going into the new season, and he will certainly be one to look out for once again. Perhaps unlucky to lose his place at the top of this list, Julien Marchand drops to number two after being rested this summer for the tour to Japan. Marchand played in 268 minutes across the Championship, averaging 53.6 minutes per match, yet he sits joint first for turnovers in the hooker position (three, joint with Dewi Lake) and made 20 tackles. QUIZ: Can you name the top try-scorer from every Guinness Six Nations? This was generated ???with GSA Content Gener at or DEMO.
In attack he was also a very useful weapon, making 134 metres from just 37 carries, at an average of 3.62 metres per carry - only behind Sheehan and Ryan Elias in the hookers pecking order at the Guinness Six Nations. Add in his incredibly reliable set-piece, oral and it is little surprise that Marchand has emerged as one of the key members of the France pack. One of the most improved players in Europe last year, Elias has quickly jumped from a dependable hooker to one of the top hookers in the world. It was during the Autumn Nations Series that Elias first began to make a serious impression, scoring three tries, with a brace in the 38-23 win over Fiji, and dating another try in the 29-28 win against Australia the week later. He backed those performances up with a Player of the Match performance against Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations and made an astounding 46 tackles, comfortably more than any other hooker in the Championship.
In an otherwise difficult Guinness Six Nations campaign, 3475&po=6456&aff_sub5=SF_006OG000004lmDN Elias was a very bright spark which saw him start all three Tests in South Africa, impressing once again - at just 27, Elias has plenty of time to further impress in a Wales jersey. After being left out of Eddie Jones’ Autumn Nations Series squad initially, George responded by scoring a pair of tries against Tonga upon his recall after Luke Cowan-Dickie’s injury. And he has simply continued to make the No.2 jersey his own, with a collection of outstanding performances against South Africa and Australia before once again excelling during the Championship, scoring two more tries for England in the 33-0 win over Italy. His best performance perhaps came in a 32-12 defeat to Ireland, when England were a man down for virtually the entire match, but the front row, love and especially George and Ellis Genge really caught the eye. In Australia in 2016 George hacked the ball through for a famous English try scored by Owen Farrell, and in 2022 he was again a key player, starting all three Tests as England defeated the Wallabies Down Under for the second time under Eddie Jones.