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Uncapped flyer enters All Blacks' matchday 23 as Jordie Barrett a late scratch
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Forget McZanno or McRizz; Tom Hooper has just blown that experiment out of the water
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There are a few key reasons why conventional No.7s are now an endangered species at Test level, and it is seeing selection pictures change course.
The main reason for this move is that the breakdown turnover, also called the pilfer, or what is occasionally known as the jackal, is now a skill expected to be performed by several players, not just the player wearing the No.7 jersey.
Hookers with their athletic but stocky build traditionally have become a second pilfer option, but that mould never stopped All Blacks great Sam Whitelock from being a clutch jackaler.
Even backline players are now getting in on the fun with Quinn Tupaea, Filipo Daugunu, and Timoci Tavatavanawai bringing the skills to the pretty boys out the back.
The second reason is that a premium has been put on having several tall options for the lineout, and although sevens are rarely thrown up in the lineout, it speaks more to the mechanics considered when selecting a forward pack.
Not having the required height in one of the backrow selections robs a team of genuine versatility to cover the second row, should they need it.
Finally, as a result of not having that pilfering mandate, the position now joins the other backrow positions as being one without a defined mandate, which distinguishes itself from the rest of the backrow.
The only unique thing about the No.6, 7, and 8 is where they all pack down at the scrum.
For these reasons, Tom Hooper’s return to the Wallabies will cause a real stir.
In July, Hooper made 14 carries for 36 metres, won two turnovers, took one lineout, and made 9/11 tackles against Argentina.
Against France, world class No.7 Fraser McReight topped the pilfer count with two; against Italy a week later, the next man up, Carlo Tizzano, claimed three; against Japan in Osaka it was the outside backs and props getting it done, and in Townsville Tizzano claimed another three.
Tizzano started both the Italy and the second Japan Tests with McReight coming off the bench in jersey No.20, and this prompted the press pack to begin to reminisce on the days when flanking greats Michael Hooper and David Pocock were attempted to be played together as the “Pooper”.
In subsequent post-match press conferences, head coach Les Kiss was asked about the duo of McReight and Tizzano together as a pilfering powerhouse couple, adequately dubbed the ‘McZanno’ or the ‘McRizz’.
While it is enticing to reminisce about the elite edge the Pooper offered at times and apply that to what ‘McRizz’ could offer, it goes against the current trends in Test-level selection because of the reasons outlined in the intro.
According to the Wallabies database, McReight is 186cm and weighs 108kg; Tizzano comes in at 180cm and 104kg, but Hooper dwarfs them both at 199cm and 122kg.
We’ve already established that in their respective starting roles, Tizzano and McReight are better than Hooper by one pilfer at the breakdown, and they all have very good tackle percentages as well.
However, no one in the McRizz duo is taking a lineout, nor can they cover the second row or rest of the loose forward positions in a ‘break glass’ emergency; whilst Hooper is a genuine cover for them all.
Even Eddie Jones was right about Hooper’s potential, even though with so many things during his tenure, the execution was way off.
Jones fed a young 22-year-old Hooper to the massive Springboks pack wrapped in the Wallabies No.7 jersey in 2023 in Pretoria. At that time, Hooper lasted all but 32 minutes before the brutality of Test match rugby took its toll and left the field with a bung shoulder.
What made this particular loss and moment even more memorable was that it was touted all week that it was a Springboks B team, a fact that grossly annoyed Jones at the time, but there was truth to it.
Nevertheless, three years later and a lot of top-class footy later, Hooper is a genuine starting option for the Wallabies, and has done so in the second row and the back row, in every jersey from No.4 to No.7.
This is not to mention the fact that 2025 was his best Test season to date, with form which started in last year’s Super Rugby Pacific competition, and it’s continued for his new English Premiership club, the Exeter Chiefs.
This context is important as it shows just how valuable a player Hooper has become to the Wallabies off consistent performances, and it’s form like this that demands selection of Kiss, who must get creative to wedge Hooper into the matchday 23 as often as possible.
While Hooper’s breakdown efforts were great on the weekend against Los Pumas, he was hardly a carrying juggernaut, carrying for just 2.5 metres per carry.
Hooper is an engine-room player; he is a high-effort player as well as a player who offers a lot of aggression, which goes to another level when surrounded by big-moment players, like Will Skelton, as seen during the British and Irish Lions series.
All these attributes, as well as his physical dimensions, make him the perfect cover for the backrow as well as the second row, and it’s the mould of a player that makes Pieter-Steph du Toit irreplaceable for the Springboks.
Chiefs lock Tupou Vaa’i appears to be Dave Rennie’s man in the No.6 jersey for the All Blacks with all his 198cm, and we know the Argentinians have a horde of big, tall, angry men who are as adept at the breakdown as they are at the lineout or tackle.
The Wallabies have genuine Test-level depth in the backrow with Valetini, Tizzano, McReight, Hooper, and captain Harry Wilson, then of course theres exciting Charlie Cale, who is down the pecking order.
This is a phenomenal pool to select from each week, and it’s exactly these sorts of selection headaches head coach Kiss wants, but he cannot be shy with his backrow riches; he must forge on and get the most out of them.
The debate about having McReight and Tizzano on the field together is moot, not to mention the conversation surrounding what the duo should be called.
As long as Kiss has Hooper in the squad, selecting two shorter, lighter fetchers is only a publicity stunt.
When the Wallabies come up against the Springboks or All Blacks, Kiss won’t be able to afford the McRizz duo in the matchday 23.
You lose almost 20kg at the scrum and almost as many centimetres at the lineout, as well as a utility player who can cover your second row.
How Hooper will be used in the Wallabies set-up could define their campaign in the southern hemisphere before they head north for November’s Nations Championship.
Should Hooper reclaim his Exeter Chiefs form, or that which he had in Wallaby gold last year, you could field Hooper at No.7, Valetini at No.6 and Wilson at No.8 with McReight on the bench in a 5-3 split reserve rotation and have the impact as though you were playing a 6-2 split.
So at this point, we must decide on a name that would adequately capture a combination of Hooper and either McReight or Tizzano.
That is, if the nostalgia of the Australian rugby public will not prevent them from modernising and accepting the arguments in this piece.
It would have to be either the McHooper or the Hoozzano.
