Michael Hooper weighs in on Wallabies' late call in Ireland defeat

Michael Hooper has defended the Wallabies’ decision to take a shot at goal in the dying stages of a 33-31 Nations Championship defeat to Ireland, believing captain Harry Wilson and goal-kicker Ben Donaldson were right to back themselves.

Ireland had just taken the lead through a Sam Prendergast conversion, with the fly-half adding the extras after a Thomas Clarkson try. That gave the Wallabies less than two minutes to snatch the win, with a record crowd at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium watching on.

The Wallabies made their way upfield and into the Irish half, with the clock ticking beyond the 80-minute mark with it all to play for. Donaldson had missed a shot at sticks about 10 minutes earlier but didn’t back down from another opportunity to add three to the team’s score.

‘Dono’ lined up one final shot at the poles with the clock in the red, placing the tee down 40 metres out from the line and five metres in from touch. The fly-half had pulled that previous shot wide left, but ended up pushing this kick right of the poles.

“I would have gone for the shot at goal there,” Hooper said on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts.

“You se he’s got the legs there, he corrected it, obviously over corrected it but it’s coming round so it’s not a bad strike.

“I think that’s the right decision. It’s a good decision and I love the fact that Dono goes ‘yeah I’ve got this’ and tried to win the game for his country off his own back.

“Any kicker in the world kicks that, what a fantastic effort. I think all round that process was really good, the one before, not so good.”

The Wallabies had led by as much as 12 points during the first half, with four try-scorers making their mark. Dylan Pietsch and Jock Campbell were first to strike, before Josh Canham and Ryan Lonergan touched down for first pointers during the second quarter of the Test.

But a final play effort from Jamison Gibson-Park saw the Irish reduce the deficit to five going into the break. Hugo Keeenan levelled the score early in the second term, before Prendergast kicked the visitors ahead.

The Wallabies hit back five minutes later through Tate McDermott and held onto their lead for more than 20 minutes. They had looked comfortable and confident throughout most the contest, but fine margins cost the side.

“Kickers win games, they don’t lose games in my mind. It’s not always down to the kicker,” former Wallabies scrum-half Phipps added.

“We kicked three from seven for the game, Ireland kicked four from five. That’s it. It’s not about that last kick, it’s before that, it’s what happened throughout the whole game – there’s 80 minutes of decisions and calls and opportunities.

“It’s not really on Dono there… his skills are so good, he’s world-class.”