TRU's Position Watch - Loosehead

With the Aviva Premiership now well and truly under way, we are excited to bring you the inaugural edition of a new series of articles putting the spotlight on some of the best players in the tournament.

We hope to shine a light on each position and assess just who rules the roost in the Premiership. Players will be ranked on the basis of their overall ability rather than importance to their team, whilst recent performance will be given more weight than form in previous seasons, as we potentially debunk some off the more misleading reputations. 

The series will kickoff, fairly logically, with the loosehead props. Notable names such as Nathan Catt, Alex Waller and Luke Cowan-Dickie all miss out, showing just how deep the talent pool is at the position in the Premiership.

8. Tom Court, London Irish

The new arrival at the Madejski Stadium may not be considered amongst the best in the world at his position, but he is an experienced operator who can still show up tightheads on his day. The Irish prop had a particularly good day at Twickenham on Saturday, getting the better of the highly-touted Kyle Sinckler on more than one occasion.   

7. Matt Mullan, Wasps

A seemingly perennial figure around the England camp, Mullan has done a good job for his country whenever the injury bug has struck those above him in the pecking order. His move to Wasps in 2013/14 helped solidify their scrum and he will look to build on a respectable outing against Kieran Longbottom and Saracens’ vaunted pack at Twickenham this weekend.

6. Paul James, Bath

The Welshman has spent the majority of his career in the shadow of international teammate Gethin Jenkins, which has lead to him often being underrated. Like Mullan, James is a prop who does everything well, but doesn’t excel in one single area. He has proved his calibre at club level with Bath, not least so against Sale on Saturday, but has shown he is also a very able deputy at the international level for Wales.

5. Mako Vunipola, Saracens

Undoubtedly one of the most intimidating props with ball in hand in world rugby, his struggles against the more technically proficient props sees him drop to fifth on this list. Injury prevented him from running out with Saracens against Wasps at the London Double Header and should sideline him for some time yet, but he may have his work cut out on his return to force himself back into international recognition, with England well-stocked at the position.

4. Logovi’i Mulipola, Leicester Tigers

When Mulipola arrived in Leicester three years ago, his considerable potential was clear to all, but his scrummaging technique was fairly unrefined. Under the old engagement sequence, these deficiencies were often masked by his power in the hit, which allowed him to make an instant impact in the Premiership. The Samoan deserves a lot of praise however for the work he has put in on his technique since then, adapting well to the changing game. A force in the loose, too, Mulipola is one half of a very exciting one-two punch at Welford Road.  

3. Joe Marler, Harlequins

Unlike the previously mentioned Vunipola, Marler is a prop who has flourished under the new scrum engagement sequence. Since they’ve been introduced, Marler has developed from a good club prop, to an exciting international prospect, who has already made his mark with England when called upon. A yellow card blighted his season opener against London Irish, but outside of his sin-binning, Marler acquitted himself well against the experienced Halani Aulika, even though the Harlequin looked a shade rusty.

2. Marcos Ayerza, Leicester Tigers

Ayerza may have missed the inaugural round of the Premiership (and a few more games to come), but his screw-turning performances for Argentina in The Rugby Championship will have tighthead props across the league thankful for this short reprieve. The Puma is unlucky not to take top spot, especially after his destructive outings against South Africa recently, but his ceiling falls just short of the player mentioned below and has, on occasion, a propensity for giving away penalties. 

Arguably the most potent prop amongst the southern hemisphere nations, Ayerza’s resume has been bolstered by his back-to-back demolitions of Jannie du Plessis in August. With the impactful Mulipola fit and firing, teams around the Premiership will be nervously anticipating Ayerza’s impending return from international duty.  

1. Alex Corbisiero, Northampton Saints

The New York-born prop has had his fair share of injury issues over the last few years, but when fit, there are few tighthead props who can live with his unparalleled combination of power and technique in the scrum. His potency with ball in hand might not rival that of Cian Healy or Tendai Mtawawira, but his contribution to the set-piece matches or exceeds that of all his peers.

 Corbisiero got his season off to the perfect start on Friday, comprehensively outplaying respected tighthead John Afoa. Northampton were awarded the luxury of removing the loosehead from the action after 50 minutes thanks to their dominance on the scoreboard, but he showed more than enough in that time to justify his position at the top of this list.