THE shakedown at hooker in 2017 proved that the international pecking order is sometimes only a loose guideline where Lions tour selection is concerned.
A year before the 2017 tour to New Zealand there appeared to be little possibility of Jamie George racing to the front of the field of hookers vying for Test contention.
The England bench No.2 had his path blocked not only by Dylan Hartley, the incumbent Red Rose captain, but also by the experienced Ireland skipper Rory Best – who was to lead Ireland to a landmark first victory over the All Blacks at Soldier Field in Chicago six months before the Lions squad was named.
If those were not obstacles enough, George also had to find a way past Ken Owens, who had been ever-present at hooker for the preceding five years of Warren Gatland's tenure as Wales coach, before he embarked on a year-long sabbatical as head coach of the Lions.
However, Gatland had seen enough of George's outstanding form for 2016 European Cup and English Premiership double winners Saracens to pick him over the injury-hampered Hartley in the tour squad – and then to promote him to the Test team on tour form, ahead of Owens and Best.
George rewarded Gatland's faith with a sterling display in the drawn series against the world champions, including playing an important part in setting up the Conor Murray try which saw the Lions draw level at 21-21 in the second Test in Wellington before Owen Farrell's penalty clinched victory.
George proved in that series – and since then – that the best hookers in the modern game have to be jacks of all trades, in terms of being quick around the field, good handlers, carriers and tacklers, but also masters of two trades in particular.
To stand a chance of playing for any elite professional side, let alone become a Test starter for the Lions, they must be master-craftsmen in the two primary areas of first phase combat, the scrum and line-out.
Nick Cain's rankings of who should start at hooker for the British & Irish Lions in 2021
1. Jamie George – England
2. Ken Owens – Wales
3. Luke Cowan-Dickie – England
4. Stuart McInally – Scotland
5. Rob Herring – Ireland
Anyone challenging George, 29, for the hooking berth against South Africa next summer, has to be a specialist with precision skills at the line-out in terms of throwing accuracy, and co-ordinating it with his jumpers and lifters so that the timing is perfect.
They will also have to have the flexibility, durability and coordination to hook the ball back at the scrum with such speed and efficiency that it is at the feet of their No.8 in a flash.
Having started all three Tests against New Zealand four years ago, and since then supplanted the now retired Hartley as England's first-choice hooker, George will not be easy to dislodge.
However, having made such rapid headway last time, he will be more aware than most of how rivals can come like a bolt from the blue to stake their claim.
Among those rivals will be Owens, who, despite being deep into veteran territory at 34, will want to add to the two Lions caps off the bench he won in NZ. In the recent Six Nations campaign the Wales hooker appeared to have fuel in the tank – and the same is true of George's England understudy, Luke Cowan-Dickie.
The brawny Exeter hooker has shown great drive and determination, as well as mauling coordination and ability, in capitalising on line-out drives to score tries consistently for club and country.
Cowan-Dickie, 27, has also made significant improvements in the reliability of his line-out throwing over the last year, and if he keeps improving looks capable of mounting a serious challenge for Lions Test recognition.
Another hooker at the younger end of the spectrum is Ryan Elias, the athletic 25-year-old former flanker who understudies Owens at the Scarlets and Wales, as well as Elliot Dee – while Scotland also have two hookers in Fraser Brown and the 6ft 3ins Stuart McInally, who were initially back row forwards, and like to carry in the wide channels when they get the chance.
Both could be in the frame, with McInally, who has been used this season mainly as an impact sub, proving to be a dynamic running threat late on.
Ireland have a host of hookers looking to fill Best's boots, with the job going to his South African-born Ulster team-mate Rob Herring this season. However, the mobile Herring faces competition from the likes of 23-year-old Leinster prospect Ronan Kelleher, as well as his more seasoned Leinster colleagues Sean Cronin and James Tracy, and Munster's Niall Scannell.
One of the issues for the Irish contingent is that South Africa play a power game up front, and only two of them, Kelleher and Scannell, weigh-in at 17 stone (107 kg), whereas the Springbok first-choice hooker, the dynamic Malcolm Marx, is 6ft 2ins and a stone heavier (114 kg).
The other Springbok contender, Mbongi Mbonambi, also packs a punch, because he is 17 stone despite being only 5ft 9ins tall. This suggests the Lions will have to meet fire with fire in terms of physical clout at hooker, because conceding the set piece to South Africa would be suicide.
NICK CAIN
