School of rakes: Former Blues hooker Kurt Eklund on mission to train next generation

Former Māori All Blacks captain and Blues hooker Kurt Eklund is hoping to help the next generation of hookers find the tools to succeed in rugby’s most technical and demanding positions after identifying what he believes is a significant gap in the game’s coaching structures.

Forced to hang up the boots last month due to a lingering neck injury, Eklund has since launched The Hooker Lab, which aims to provide specialist coaching to help hookers take their game to the next level.

Eklund believes hookers have long been under-resourced, despite the importance of their role in the set piece, with players often left to develop the technical skills required to excel without the necessary guidance.

Having spent more than a decade playing professional rugby, Eklund knows first-hand the demands of the position, but says he was largely left to work out the technical aspects of throwing for himself.

“Throughout my career it was ‘here’s a ball, go get better at throwing’. Like, well how? And so I had to work that out for myself,” Eklund told the Herald.

“I just wish that I had the tools to have been able to work it out a lot earlier.”

Having identified a lack of resources during his career, Eklund now wants to do his part to improve the development of future hookers.

He believes the coaching structures around the position have not kept pace with its demands, leaving young players to figure out some of the most important aspects of their game without the necessary support.

He has also spent time with the New Zealand Secondary Schools team and felt set piece development could have been better, but insists it is down to people like himself to improve the systems in place.

“I feel like a lot of the young boys coming through, they make NPC and they’re happy with that because they’re playing professional rugby and they’ve made it on the skills that they’ve got, so they think it’s enough,” Eklund said.

“It’s no fault of the hookers themselves either because a lot of them are just doing what they know and have been told.

“I think we have let them down in terms of not being able to help them or coach them or find the people to do that for them.”

Hookers who later become coaches remain uncommon in rugby, with former players more likely to move into broader forwards or set-piece coaching roles, potentially leaving the technical aspects of lineout throwing overlooked.

In Scott Robertson’s first year as All Blacks coach, he appointed former hooker Corey Flynn as a specialist throwing coach, the first time they had somebody in that role. Flynn also worked as a consultant for Super Rugby sides.

Eklund wants The Hooker Lab to help address that gap, not only by working directly with players but also by giving coaches the knowledge and tools to teach the position.

The evolution of the hooker during the professional era has also changed.

Modern hookers are quite mobile, play like a loose forward and typically clock in below 110kg – but in past years, they were like big battering rams and threatened 120kg and beyond.

Former All Blacks hooker Dane Coles helped redefine the position, but Eklund believes his influence should not come at the expense of the fundamentals.

“He changed the way we looked at hookers because he was a freak around the field but people forget that he was really good at his set piece too,” Eklund said.

“No one’s going to remember you for being a good thrower because that’s your job, but they’ll remember you if you’re a s**t one.

“The narrative that I’m hearing at the moment is ‘oh he’s great around the park, oh he’s awesome on defence but he just really struggles with set piece’.

“That doesn’t make sense. You need your hooker to be the best at set piece first and then everything else around the park is a bonus.”

Kurt Eklund captained the Māori All Blacks in 2025. Photo / Photosport

After more than a decade playing in New Zealand, the 34-year-old Eklund had been due to continue his career in Japan after agreeing to join Yokohama Canon Eagles, but those plans were abandoned on medical advice.

His career included spells with Bay of Plenty and Auckland in the NPC, as well as the Blues, where he was part of their 2024 Super Rugby Pacific-winning side. He also represented the Anzac XV and All Blacks XV, while captaining the Māori All Blacks.

While the end of his playing career was not entirely on his terms, Eklund has no regrets about the decision to retire, accepting it was the right thing to do.

He has wasted little time adjusting to life after rugby, with The Hooker Lab already attracting interest from players in New Zealand and overseas.

The venture offers individual and group coaching, online video analysis and support for coaches, with Eklund hoping to build something that can make a lasting difference to the position.

Away from rugby, he has plenty of other ideas he wants to explore, including creating more social media content around another of his passions, fishing, while enjoying more time with his family and his newborn son.

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.