'He's just a freak': Former All Black pays tribute to Wallabies' best
While the Wallabies may have set an unwanted record in their 57-22 loss to the All Blacks last weekend, conceding the most points ever in a Bledisloe Cup clash, there was one man who continued to play his heart out in the gold jersey.
Wallabies captain Michael Hooper, in his 110th international appearance, was a constant thorn in the All Blacks’ side, never relenting throughout the game despite his team taking a huge beating.
It was a typically courageous outing for the openside flanker, who’s faced stiff competition to wear the No 7 jersey since first joining the team in 2012, but fighting off the challenges of all and sundry to stake his name as one of the greatest openside flankers of the modern era.
And while a 35-point loss never looks great for a captain, it was hard to find fault with Hooper’s performance on the park. Despite his own individual effort, however, Hooper owned the loss following the game, suggesting that he as an individual needed to step up as both a player and a captain.
With a one-man advantage nearing halftime, the Wallabies failed to capitalise on a yellow card to Ardie Savea – and that quickly came back to bite them.
“[It was] our skill error, to not capitalise on that, maybe I should have taken the shot and built on that,” Hooper said following the game.
“Got a good exit and capitalised on them being a man down. I didn’t and it turned out to hurt us.
“So I take a lot of responsibility for that and I take a lot of responsibility for not being able to rally our guys in order to get a better outcome in that pretty pivotal 10 minutes. It’s something that as captain I’ve got to look at.”
Hooper has been widely praised for his performance, however, with former All Blacks hooker and Super Rugby centurion James Parsons speaking out in favour of the Wallabies No 7.
“He’s just a freak. He’s such a good player to watch,” Parsons said on the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“I think [former Wallabies hooker] Jeremy Paul, during the week before this test match, said ‘If he was playing in any other era, he would be held as one of their best players ever’. If he was playing in a winning side or through that era of Larkham and Gregan, like Jeremy Paul was saying, [he would be considered one of the best].
“He’s just unbelievable. His skillset, his ability to offload in contact, work off the ball…
“His ownership – if you listen to him after the game, he takes a lot of ownership on himself and where he can be better. He never points fingers. Those are the sorts of blokes that you want to follow and you want to get into the trenches with. His level of play on the field is quality. What he’s offering off the field, in terms of leadership, I think’s massive as well.”
Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall agreed, suggesting that Hooper’s attitude and ownership should have Wallabies fans confident their skipper can lead them away from their poor recent results against the All Blacks.
“If you’re an Australian supporter and obviously pretty disappointed with how the result went, you’ve got a captain at the front of it saying ‘We need to be more accountable, I need to be better, we need to be better’, then you kind of accept that as a supporter,” Hall said.
“Dave Rennie’s talked around a lot [how] they want to win – they’re not there just to participate. As a captain, you can be able to give that vulnerability and being able to show your fans and, more so, your group as well, that this is not good enough but as a captain I’m going to take this accountability and somewhat take the heat off the players that are probably going to be getting it a bit in the media.”
The Wallabies are due to host the All Blacks in Australia next weekend but New Zealand’s current Covid outbreak could put that plan at risk.
Comments on RugbyPass
I wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to comments