Units and their positions. The close physical contact with each other engenders a sense of community not shared by the backfield players, who are often regarded as some sort of effete snobs. With the hooker between them they form the front row of the scrum and are the foundation of a good team. Unfortunately, they are a much maligned trio on account of their sometimes frightening ugliness. Hand-some props are not unknown but the classic type is distinguished by having no neck and a face like a Piltdown man.
Hookers are usually shorter, quite bald and toothless, with arms hanging ape-like at the sides.
The powerhouse pair, usually the tallest and heaviest men in the team, were once recognizable by the inevitably cauliflower ears, but the fashion for wearing scrum caps or tape around the head has reduced the incidence of this feature. In the scrum they are usually hidden in a cloud of steam, but they are prominent in the line-out as they soar to catch the ball. Actually, flank forwards are backfield players in disguise, for they have only a tenuous connection with the scrum and in modern rugby their role is a glamorous one, for though their errors are hard to detect, everybody sees their brilliant contributions. Their primary purpose still is to do brilliant things with the ball once the forwards have provided it. The scrum half is often a dimunitive man of great courage who follows at the heels of the forwards like a terrier, throwing the ball out when they produce it.