Crossword Genius

King breaks nose, shirtless, of rugby player (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hooker

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'rugby player' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'king breaks nose shirtless' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'king' could be 'er' (abbreviation for Edward Rex, various English kings) and 'er' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'hook' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'of' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hooker that I've seen before include "Old professional" , "John Lee --, blues singer" , "Fishing boat" , "Rugby centre forward in the ..." , "Rugby player - traditional single-masted Irish working boat" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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