Where Does Dylan Hartley Rank on List of Rugby's Best Hookers Right Now?
World rugby audiences were divided earlier this year when newly christened England coach Eddie Jones made the decision to re-elect Northampton Saints hooker as national team captain, warts and all.
Debate was fervent leading up to that selection, with many feeling Hartley, while talented, didn't pose the discipline necessary to be a leader figure for a team ushering in its new era under ex-Australia and Japan coach Jones.
But Hartley proved his doubters wrong, at least to some extent, and helped forge a path that led England to a Grand Slam triumph in the 2016 RBS Six Nations, keeping himself in check throughout the competition.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
However, awards for "Best Captain" are hard to come by, while the rewards for being the best hooker in the world are more evident, and we've taken a look at where Hartley ranks among the world's best No. 2s.
The Hybrid Hooker
In a weird twist of fate, Hartley was one of no fewer than three hookers heading into this year's Six Nations who also happened to have been appointed his side's latest captain leading up to the tournament.
The others were of course Ireland's Rory Best, who was decent enough in attempting to fill Paul O'Connell's size 14 boots, while France's Guilhem Guirado dazzled as his team's Player of the Tournament, per FF Rugby (tweet in French):
As far as leadership goes, England couldn't have asked for much more of Hartley, 30, after he made a go at picking up the pieces of last year's tragic home Rugby World Cup, where Chris Robshaw wore the armband.
And that's where the Northampton hooker thrived. Having previously served as captain for England and at club level, Hartley's performance in the role was praised by World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward, per Sportsmail: "There is no question that he has been absolutely outstanding. Saturday was a tough game and he just played his game very well and he really fits with Eddie Jones."
But there is the debate captaincy can hide a player's flaws. In fairness to Hartley, England lost just six lineouts in five matches, per the official RBS Six Nations website, but there's reason to argue Best and Guirado—who topped France's scoring charts with two tries—stood out more.
And then we delve into the tournament's other fine hookers, including a rejuvenated Ross Ford, who started all six of Scotland's games, and Scott Baldwin, Wales' rising force in the No. 2 jersey.
Hookers are expected to be more rounded players—not in appearance, mind you—than ever before, and perhaps nowhere is the "hybrid hooker" more advanced than in the southern hemisphere.
If a running No. 2 is what one's after, Guirado is a fierce option, but New Zealand's Dane Coles has evolved in the past year to become a terror in the loose for the Hurricanes in particular, per Eat Sleep Rugby:
"Dane Coles cuts a great line off Beauden Barrett to score for the Hurricanes in #SuperRugby pic.twitter.com/6kLnoZRYd5
— EatSleepRugby (@eatsleeprugby) April 14, 2016"
That's without mentioning the likes of Bismarck du Plessis, South Africa's veteran pack leader, and Australia centurion Stephen Moore, another captain No. 2 both for the Brumbies and the Wallabies.
Georgia's Shalva Mamukashvili may be considered the only Tier 2 international hooker capable of contending for a place among the world's elite, but the 25-year-old is just shy of the necessary standard here.
The Disciplinary Debate
It's been discussed at length in recent months, and one can't discuss Hartley's status as a top-class hooker without mentioning that infamous disciplinary record, the one that's seen him banned for a total of 54 weeks.
However, as rugby writer Tim O'Connor highlighted after the tournament, the Northampton star was actually among England's best-behaved characters throughout:
We bring Hartley's discipline to light because a captain should, for starters, be as omnipresent in their role as possible, and that's without getting into the debate of leading by example.
But hooker can tend to be a rebellious area in this regard. Du Plessis and Moore in particular have been on the circuit long enough to see their reputations tarnished by suspension, such is the life of a fearsome front-rower. Jones also attested to Hartley's fierce streak as being part of his appeal, per the Press Association:
"Likeable rogue" is a term some might use to describe retired All Black Richie McCaw or the aforementioned O'Connell, but because Hartley has created a different pre-disposition, he tends to go down not as smoothly with audiences.
For that reason, the smudges on Hartley's record, while not helping his case, certainly don't detract from his competition as one of the world's finest hookers when being compared alongside his peers.
Overall Quality
All in all, however, it's what we see on the pitch that 71-cap Hartley must be judged on, and he was somewhat fortunate to be gifted such talented team-mates for this year's Six Nations.
After all, it's no surprise England failed to lose a lineout throw in their last two matches of the campaign, when George Kruis and Maro Itoje were perhaps settled as a lock partnership.
| 1 | Dane Coles | New Zealand | Hurricanes |
| 2 | Bismarck Du Plessis | South Africa | Montpellier |
| 3 | Guilhem Guirado | France | Toulon |
| 4 | Rory Best | Ireland | Ulster |
| 5 | Scott Baldwin | Wales | Ospreys |
| 6 | Dylan Hartley | England | Northampton Saints |
| 7 | Agustin Creevy | Argentina | Jaguares |
| 8 | Stephen Moore | Australia | Brumbies |
| 9 | Adriaan Strauss | South Africa | Bulls |
| 10 | Schalk Brits | South Africa | Saracens |
In any case, lineout throwing is an extremely short-lived and difficult trait to judge hookers on. Hartley improved England's pack after replacing Tom Youngs at No. 2, for example, but New Zealand's Coles, after once having a reputation as a weak thrower, has improved dramatically.
There aren't many more experienced throwers at present than South Africa's Du Plessis, however, who has helped Montpellier into the Challenge Cup semi-finals, impressing Rugby World's Gavin Mortimer along the way:
"Superb performance from Montpellier in seeing off Sale. Brains and brawn. Bismarck Du Plessis a class apart.
— gavin mortimer (@gavinmortimer7) April 8, 2016"
Both Coles and Du Plessis could be considered equally as impressive as Hartley at the set piece while offering more out wide, with the former in particular coming to thrive in his running "responsibilities."
England coach Jones was even quoted by Sky Sports after the Six Nations and admitted Hartley, while delivering as a leader of the team, was far from perfect in a playing regard:
"As a player he has been adequate but he has got to improve and keep improving.
He's done very well as captain. It's not how well he speaks or what school he went to or can he write poetry. That has got nothing to do with leadership. It is all about the ability to influence people.
When I took up the job, I spoke to people about Dylan and the captaincy, and the general consensus was that he would be a positive choice.
It was obvious England missed Dylan a lot during the World Cup. He's not the greatest player in the world but he plays with his heart on his sleeve and people follow him.
"
So, as we can see, there are a host of hookers hailing from both sides of the equator who could give the England man a run for his money in a head-to-head contest.
We'll get an even better idea of where he sizes up later this summer, too, as England prepare for a Test against Wales in May followed by their three-match tour of Moore's Australia in June.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
