George, Coles, Taylor, Marx in four-way battle to be named world's best hooker

Four of the world's leading hookers will go head-to-head in the semi-finals of the Straight 8 Fan Vote to decide the best hooker on the planet.

Punters worldwide have hit the polls on RugbyPass’ Facebook and Instagram accounts as part of the initiative to decide the world’s best players in each position, as voted by the fans.

The first five instalments of the campaign have already passed, with South Africa dominating proceedings through the likes of flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit, No. 8 Duane Vermeulen and wing Cheslin Kolbe.

The trio could well be joined by Springboks teammate Malcolm Marx, who is among four top-class hookers vying for a spot in the RugbyPass Straight 8 Fan Vote World XV after clinching a win in the opening round of the eight-man knockout bracket.

Pitted against Argentina and Jaguares star Julian Montoya, Marx - who missed the opening seven rounds of Super Rugby this year to ply his trade for the NTT Communications Shining Arcs in Japan - romped to victory after attaining 89 percent of the vote.

The 25-year-old's first-up win means he has been paired with All Blacks fan favourite Dane Coles in the semi-finals.

A World Rugby player of the year nominee in 2016, Coles churned out an emphatic 76 percent win over former Scotland captain Stuart McInally in the preliminary round of voting.