Ok, Crossland covering hooker at 14, hooker is/was 9 but the way it is played nowadays he rarely if ever goes into the scrum, mostly sits at the back, traditionally 13. Basically he follows the play around and takes the feed from the tackled player and passes to whomever. Or kicks or makes a run.
hookers don’t win the ball in a scrum any longer.
So why is it so necessary for the 14 to be aligned to hooking duties when basically what he has to do is follow the play, pass, kick or run.
Any half back or clever crafty player can do the same as long as in defence they can tackle..
For example would a spine of Ponga, Milford, Clifford and Randall not work with Clune at 14 and if Randall needs a break or injured couldn’t Clifford go to 9 and Clune to 7 and have as good a result as Crosslands at 14