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Hookers: Hanyani Shimange, John Smit
Required skills: Hooker is a specialised position, with two key roles: gaining possesion of the ball in the scrum by hooking or blocking the ball with the feet, and throwing in the ball at lineouts. Accuracy and timing are vital skills for a hooker, particularly with the throw-in. Strength in the front row is of course also important.
Required fitness level: Hookers must run the 10 metres in 1.75 and the 40m in 5.5 seconds, push 150 kilograms in the bench press and squat 180 kilograms. Their vertical jump must be 60cm. They should have no more than 11% body fat.
Injuries to watch out for: Hookers are vulnerable to head, neck, shoulder, back, trunk, knee and ankle injuries. They run similar serious injury risks to props in the scrum. Forwards tend to suffer rather fewer leg muscle strains than the backs, as they generally only run for short distances, to tackle or be tackled, and do far less kicking. Nonetheless, injuries such as hamstring strains and tears are still common; both Hanyani Shimange and John Smit have had hamstring troubles. Muscle injuries can also occur as a result of a direct blow; in the case of the hamstring, which runs along the back of the thigh, this could happen if a player is kicked or falls on the thigh.
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