Fitzpatrick hails Coles as world’s best No 2
Former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick has anointed Dane Coles the best hooker in the world, but not because of his vaunted running game.
Fitzpatrick has been watching the progress of his modern-day equivalent particularly closely since being invited to a scrummaging session during the All Blacks end of year tour last year.
It was then that the 1987 World Cup-winning rake spoke to Coles about what he believed was the only thing missing from his skill set.
‘‘I said to him you need to become the best hooker in the world, but to do that you have to be good at all parts of your game,’’ Fitzpatrick said in London on Sunday.
‘‘We all know you can run with the ball, but you need to be good over the ball, which he’s good at, you need to be a good lineout thrower, which he’s good at, but where he has really stepped up, and what he was worried about then, is his scrummaging.’’
Like Coles, Fitzpatrick changed the role of the hooker in 1987 with his running game out wide, but wedged between props John Drake and Steve McDowall, he also became renowned for how much he added to the set piece.
‘‘That is so important. In terms of first phase obviously you need a good lineout, but if you have that platform at scrum time it can change the face of the game,’’ Fitzpatrick said. ‘‘I believe Dane is now the No 1 hooker in world rugby and I don’t want to put any extra pressure on him, but that was his goal then.’’
Interestingly, through his early career Coles (1.84m) shared similar physical dimensions to Fitzpatrick, 1.83m and 105kg when he played the last of his 92 tests in 1997, but is now considerably heavier after beefing up to 109kg.
Considered by most to be the best hooker to have worn the black jersey, Fitzpatrick has also been impressed by how quickly Coles has matured into a composed member of the tight five.
‘‘I had a few rough edges. I was so competitive and took it too far sometimes. It’s all experience and that’s what I like about him is he’s learning from a few mistakes he’s made and just controlling himself and knowing what to do and when to do it.’’
Players like Coles provided the All Blacks with a point of difference to most other sides at the World Cup, he said.
‘‘In the game today you need to be multi-skilled in everything you do and that’s where some of the other teams, and I won’t mention the teams, have individual players who are very good at one thing, but not good at other parts of the game.’’
The skill level and versatility of the All Blacks was becoming even more of a competitive edge in the professional era, Fitzpatrick said.
‘‘In our day the game changed every year, and then it changed every week, and now it’s changing every game and even during the game. Players have to do different things they might not have been asked normally to do.’’
He believed All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was ‘‘pushing the right buttons’’ with his players and noted the confidence of rookie hooker Codie Taylor in speaking to a large crowd at an AIG promotional event in London.
‘‘I would never have done that in my day. We would be saying, ‘where are we going now’, but these guys are very professional.’’