The Hooker's Try

Starting position

A scrum, and two players who read each other. The hooker takes the ball out and gives it to the 9. Nothing remarkable yet — except the 9 hands it straight back, behind the opposition hooker who had just shifted across to cover. That one give-and-go is enough to wipe out the first defender. From there it is all solo. The 2 goes through the gap, finds the winger in front of him and beats him with a beautiful dummy, and then there is nobody left. Fifty metres later he touches down. A hooker scoring a fifty-metre solo try does not happen — except at Toulouse.