The UAFC

Take off the rose tinted glasses for a minute boys, lets talk about these two great hookers......Discuss,compare..............

Rory

I don't think Keith has the swing to win a major so it's Rory for me.

Flannery is yer man boys.

Hard to bate Flah for kicking Frogs up in the air.

That apart, I'd genuinely go for Rory, admittedly, probably on bias for there wasn't a lot between them. I heard, though can't remember the source, that props prefer Rory for his scrummaging strength and whilst Flah may have been more on the Wood style in the loose, he was a tough nut in close combat as well. I think overall Rory has added so much more to his game as an allrounder since those days, so hence I tip my hat to him.

I might do Woodie a disservice but he was a bit if a freak, I'm not sure his nuts & bolts hooker job was up to scratch but he was a phenomenon around the pitch & had a great heart for the battle. I always recall his try in the delayed 6Ns game in 2001 where he threw to a short lineout and barreled through the thin white line over the top of Micky Skinner it I remember correctly. He refused to be stopped. That was the year Gatland blew the Grand Slam (Guy Easterby).

I hated that Wood played in England, I'm all for the policy England have & the SH had until very recently play at home to play for your country, sadly we are too small to hold players to it. Had we any real alternative I would have sacrificed Sexton for going to France.

Woody was a phenomenal athlete back then. Probably ahead of his time. Rory would be a complete modern hooker if his lineout work was more reliable. Only Bismarck du Plessis would be a finer exponent. Rory is a special player and like Ruan, we will only realise how special when he's retired.

BuckRogers wrote:Flannery is yer man boys.

Lol

Surely based on lions caps, he gotta go with Woody? > Then Shane Byrne.

BuckRogers wrote:Flannery is yer man boys.

just add Keith to this - good though he was.

I threw Fla in there for a reaction. His darts have probably been the best of any irish hooker bar Byrne in the pro era so he deserves a mention. Woody was to a probably the modern hooker before they increasingly became auxiliary back rowers.

For me however Best has made a huge contribution. His work rate is second to very few and he is genuinely hard as nails. If his darts were as consistent as Flannery he'd be hands down the best hooker in the NH since professionalism IMHO.

As for his contribution to Ulster, Snipe is spot on, we (well some) will only realise his true value when he is gone.

Flannery was overrated

Russ wrote:Flannery was overrated

You must give him credit,he was good in his day.