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How the heights and weights of hookers compare across the Premiership, Top 14 and PRO14
The top three leagues in Europe each have certain stereotypes regarding the size of their players that they stick to, particularly in the pack. So when comparing the measurements of hookers across Europe to get a gauge of the average weight and height, cultural norms will shine through. But there is still a model of what a No2 should look like.
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France’s Top 14 – and indeed the French national team – traditionally field the largest forwards, with the Gallagher Premiership just behind, and the Guinness PRO14 being slightly more varied, partly due to the plurality of rugby cultures that make up that five-nation league.
So when comparing the measurements of hookers across Europe to get a gauge of the average weight and height, cultural norms will shine through. But there is still a model of what a No2 should look like.
Taking each player’s figures from their club’s website, the first weekend of January is one of the best game weeks of the entire season to compare players. This was a sufficient enough gap after the World Cup to play first-choice players and before the Six Nations and European fixtures.
While it may seem like a while ago, little rugby has been played since then due to the Covid-19 pandemic. What is worth noting is that the favoured hookers for England, France, Ireland, Wales and Italy during the Six Nations – and many of the second-choice players – were all starting this particular January weekend, which suggests these are the stats demanded of Test players as well as the level below.
In contrast to many positions on the field, No2 seems to be defined by the lack of variety when it comes to the players’ physical statistics.
The height of hookers is dictated by the size of the props either side of them. They will often be smaller than the props and very seldom taller. Therefore it isn’t too surprising that the average height of hookers across the three leagues was only separated by two centimetres as a player too tall or short would create an unbalanced front row.
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The PRO14 had the tallest players at 1.83m (6ft 0ins) compared to the Premiership’s 1.82m (6ft 0ins) and the Top 14’s 1.81m (5ft 11ins). While there is a slight difference between each league, 65 per cent of the players in the French league and the PRO14 were between 1.8m and 1.85m compared to 50 per cent in England. The reason why the average is slightly higher in the PRO14 is that 21 per cent of players were over 1.85m compared to only 14 across the Channel.
With that in mind, Montpellier’s Bismarck du Plessis, at 1.89m (6ft 2ins), was the tallest hooker across the three leagues on this particular weekend. Although he is perhaps on the extreme end of what is a permissible height for a hooker, he has played in some sizeable front rows throughout his career for South Africa and now Montpellier which could accommodate taller hookers.
But these average heights show that there is a rough range of heights that a hooker has to fit in, simply in order to be most efficient.
What is stranger is that there is even less diversity in terms of weight in the three leagues. The players in both the Premiership and the PRO14 averaged 106kgs (16st 10lbs), while those in France were only a kilogram heavier.
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France’s predilection to field heavier forwards is no secret, but the fact that it is by such a fine margin is bizarre, particularly as hooker is a position that doesn’t automatically necessitate what weight a player should be.
As it happens, excluding the anomalous Paul Ngauamo, who weighs 121kgs (19st), the average weight across all three leagues was the same. The Tongan hooker weighed significantly more than any other player in Europe on this weekend. Although he may not appear that weighty, his stats were from Agen’s website and the RWC website actually had him a kilogram heavier.
The Top 14 had 21 per cent of their players over 110kgs and 14 per cent under 100kgs, while the PRO14 had 29 per cent over and zero under. Meanwhile, the Premiership had zero players over 110kgs and only one player (eight per cent) under 100kgs.
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This suggests that there is a template of an ideal hooker that many of the clubs in England – and to a lesser extent the PRO14 – adhere to, while there is more variety in France. However, compared to some other positions, the range is fairly parochial.
So the most defining thing about the average weight and height of hookers across Europe is that there isn’t a great cultural divide. In this position, a greater comparison would be made when looking across eras, as this is one of the few positions where the average weight may have actually reduced.
In recent years, the premier No2s in the world have been characterised by qualities that would not have been seen in previous eras. The All Blacks’ Dane Coles has made a name for himself in the wider channels of the field, while the Springboks’ Malcolm Marx has the workrate and the potency at the breakdown of a flanker.
While neither of these players would be deemed small, their output in the loose is greater than those of previous eras. Indeed, one of the form hookers in England this season and someone quite stylistically similar to Coles, Bristol Bears’ Harry Thacker, was the lightest and shortest player in Europe on this particular game week.
It’s therefore not worth looking at each league individually and drawing any conclusions or stereotypes from them, as the demands and requirements for this position seem to be universal.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP Average: 1.82m (6ft 0ins)/106kgs (16st 10lbs)
Bath Tom Dunn: 1.86m (6ft 1ins)/106kgs (16st 10lbs)
Bristol Harry Thacker: 1.73m (5ft 8ins)/93kgs (14st 9lbs)
Exeter Luke Cowan-Dickie: 1.85m (6ft 1ins)/109kgs (17st 3lbs)
Gloucester Franco Marais: 1.85m (6ft 1ins)/108kgs (17st)
Harlequins Elia Elia: 1.83m (6ft 0ins)/110kgs (17st 5lbs)
Leicester Tom Youngs: 1.75m (5ft 9ins)/104kgs (16st 5lbs)
London Irish Saia Fainga’a: 1.87m (6ft 2ins)/108kgs (17st)
Northampton Mike Haywood: 1.8m (5ft 11ins)/105kgs (16st 8lbs)
Sale Akker van der Merwe: 1.78m (5ft 10ins)/110kgs (17st 5lbs)
Saracens Jamie George: 1.83m (6ft 0ins)/109kgs (17st 2lbs)
Wasps Tommy Taylor: 1.83m (6ft 0ins)/104kgs (16st 5lbs)
Worcester Matt Moulds: 1.88m (6ft 2ins)/106kgs (16st 10lbs)
GUINNESS PRO14 Average: 1.83m (6ft 0ins)/106kgs (16st 10lbs)
Benetton Epalahame Faiva: 1.83m (6ft 0ins)/102kgs (16st 1lb)
Cardiff Liam Belcher: 1.78m (5ft 10ins)/104kgs (16st 5lbs)
Cheetahs Wilmar Arnoldi: 1.81m (5ft 11ins)/108kgs (17st)
Connacht Shane Delahunt: 1.88m (6ft 2ins)/112kgs (17st 8lbs)
Dragons Elliot Dee: 1.86m (6ft 1ft ft )/106kgs (16st 10lbs)
Edinburgh Mike Willemse: 1.85m (6ft 1ins)/104kgs (16st 5lbs)
Glasgow George Turner: 1.81m (5ft 11ins)/105kgs (16st 8lbs)
Leinster Sean Cronin: 1.78m (5ft 10ins)/103kgs (16st 3lbs)
Munster Niall Scannell: 1.85m (6ft 1ins)/111kgs (17st 7lbs)
Ospreys Sam Parry: 1.86m (6ft 1ins)/114kgs (17st 13lbs)
Scarlets Ken Owens: 1.85m (6ft 1ins)/112kgs (17st 8lbs)
Southern Kings Jacques du Toit: 1.84m (6ft 0ins)/103kgs (16st 3lbs)
Ulster Rob Herring: 1.85m (6ft 1ins)/102kgs (16st 1lb)
Zebre Luca Bigi: 1.82m (6ft 0ins)/104kgs (16st 5lbs)
TOP 14 Average: 1.81m (5ft 11ins)/107kgs (16st 12lbs) – 106kg excluding Ngauamo
Agen Paul Ngauamo: 1.85m (6ft 1ins)/121kgs (19st)
Bayonne Maxime Lamothe: 1.81m (5ft 11ins)/108kgs (17st)
Bordeaux Adrien Pelissie: 1.8m (5ft 11ins)/110kgs (17st 5lbs)
Brive Peniami Narisia: 1.87m (6ft 2ins)/104kgs (16st 5lbs)
Castres Jody Jenneker: 1.85 (6ft 1ins)/108kgs (17st)
Clermont John Ulugia: 1.8m (5ft 11ins)/115kgs (18st 1lb)
La Rochelle Facundo Bosch: 1.8m (5ft 11ins)/100kgs (15st 11lbs)
Lyon Jeremie Maurouard: 1.81m (5ft 11ins)/96kgs (15st 2lbs)
Montpellier Bismarck du Plessis: 1.89m (6ft 2ins)/115kgs (18st 1lb)
Pau Lucas Rey: 1.75m (5ft 9ins)/98kgs (15st 6lbs)
Racing 92 Camille Chat: 1.78m (5ft 10ins)/101kgs (16st)
Stade Francais Silatolu Latu: 1.78m (5ft 10ins)/110kgs (17st 5lbs)
Toulon Anthony Etrillard: 1.8m (5ft 11ins)/108kgs (17st)
Toulouse Julien Marchand: 1.81m (5ft 11ins)/108kgs (17st)
Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
28 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
28 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
28 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments