Hooper farewell up in the air as Jones searches for Bledisloe rebound
By Iain Payten
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones considered the shock move of naming of his Rugby World Cup squad last week - a month ahead of schedule - as a way to settle players’ nerves and provide certainty ahead a Bledisloe Cup series with the All Blacks.
The development emerged as Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh said he was keen to open talks about a sevens contract for Michael Hooper, which could take the Wallabies co-captain to the Paris Olympics in 2024. Hooper is in doubt for the Wallabies’ opening clash with New Zealand on Saturday, and if coaches take a cautious approach, the 31-year will be denied a farewell Test on home soil.
Jones and the Wallabies gathered in Melbourne on Sunday ahead of a two-Test swing at the MCG and in Dunedin over the next fortnight.
After poor performances and two defeats in the opening two Rugby Championship games, Jones has been searching for new ways to get the Wallabies firing, and one of the more radical ideas was for Australia to become the first nation to drop their Rugby World Cup squad.
Like most teams ahead of the start of the tournament in September, the Wallabies are due to name a final 33-man squad in mid-August. But according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, Jones contemplated pulling the trigger last week and finalising his World Cup squad, believing players were playing within themselves due the selection chatter and uncertainty.
With the two Bledisloe Cup Tests yet to come, however, and with the prospect of injuries and form considerations re-arranging the last third of the roster, Jones stuck to the original schedule and named a 34-man squad for the Bledisloe Cup series instead.
Eddie Jones at Wallabies training.Credit: Steven Siewert
The left-field move gives insight into Jones’ thinking, however; particularly the willingness to look at innovative ideas to get the best out of his players. Though remaining bullish about the Wallabies, Jones revealed in an interview with Sky Sports UK published last week that he needed to change the way Australian rugby goes about its business.
“I think in reality we need to hit rock bottom and then bounce up. I was hoping that we could do an immediate rescue job. That’s not going to happen. We almost need to scrape at the bottom and start again to a large degree,” Jones said.
“There’s been a fairly big drop off in Australian rugby so we’ve got to try to find a way to lift it up.
“There’s been a long period now where they’ve been unsuccessful and that almost becomes the norm, so we’re having to change the mindset, we’re having to change training habits, we’re having to change the way the players think about the game.”
Rugby Australia is hoping for a crowd of 80,000-plus at the MCG, which would represent the biggest attendance for a Bledisloe Cup game since 2009, when 80,228 watched New Zealand pip the Wallabies 19-18 at Accor Stadium. The last time the Wallabies drew over 80,000 fans was the third Test against the British and Irish Lions at the same Homebush venue, with 83,702.
Michael Hooper missed the Test against Argentina with a calf injury.Credit: Getty
Whether Hooper gets to play his last Test on home soil at the MCG remains to be seen.
Hooper picked up a calf injury ahead of Australia’s defeat to Argentina in Sydney and Jones said on Saturday that they will take a cautious approach to the Wallabies co-captain playing. He will need to train fully on Monday and Tuesday to be considered.
If Hooper misses the MCG clash, it is highly likely he has played his last Test on Australian soil, after he revealed he is not playing Super Rugby next year. The 31-year is weighing up retirement, playing overseas or playing sevens, and unless Hooper is called upon as a Giteau Law selection in coming years, his final Test on home soil will go down as the Wallabies’ third Test loss to England at the SCG in 2022.
MIchael Hooper is considering a stint in sevens in 2024.Credit: Steven Siewert
Hooper didn’t play in the Rugby Championship last year after taking a break for mental health reasons.
Waugh said there would be an acknowledgment of Hooper’s “enormous contribution to Australian rugby” at the MCG, whether he pays or not.
“Then it is around his aspirations. For him to potentially go to an Olympics, after what he’s done in the 15-a-side game, it would be a nice way for him to finish up with Australian rugby, so we are very open to that conversation,” Waugh said.
“We want to ensure we will support in him in his transition away from 15-a-side, if that what he chooses, be it into retirement or into his aspiration to go to an Olympics, we are very supportive.
“Those conversations are imminent but right now, it is about how do we give him the best possible opportunity to get him back out on the field and driving for success in France.
“We will meet with Hoops and his management and have those conversations in due course.”
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