Michael Hooper texted Fraser McReight immediately after Wallabies win
Australia’s Fraser McReight revealed he received congratulatory messages from Michael Hooper after starring in his nation’s 25-17 win over South Africa in Adelaide.
McReight has impressed since being promoted to starting seven in place of Wallabies legend Hooper, who dropped out of the opening Rugby Championship double header against Argentina due to reasons related to personal wellbeing.
In the absence of their talisman, Australia were at a crossroads, but in McReight they have found a worthy replacement who has shone in the few test matches he has appeared in.
On Saturday, the young Queensland Reds flanker had memorable interventions at both ends of the pitch. He scored two pivotal tries that helped dismantle South Africa and also pulled off a crucial breakdown turnover near his own try-line.
Weeks before, McReight scored his first international try in the 41-26 win over Argentina in Mendoza, setting down a marker of his try-scoring potential.
Few were shocked by the value McReight brought to the field – the 23-year-old has been shining in Super Rugby for some time – it has just invariably taken a bit of time to displace Hooper in Australia’s starting line-up.
Despite the competition between the pair, Hooper was one of the first to congratulate his fellow flanker, privately messaging him in the immediate aftermath of the game.
“Yeah he texted me after the game tonight and sort of brought up the two tries I got,” McReight said. “He’s probably sitting at home wishing he had scored those.’
“Obviously I waited a long time to get that exposure and competing with Hoops for two-and-a-half years was very good for my development in terms of just seeing how he preps.”
McReight paid back the compliment, attributing much of his rise to stardom on the international stage to the example and influence Hooper has had on his career so far.
“He’s a soldier of the game, a great at the game, and to see how he goes day to day and how he backs up from game to game – it was great to learn and just to view.
“We’re two different players, obviously, but yeah, being his apprentice and learning from him has been wonderful for me.”
Chances to break into test rugby are few and far between. McReight, having waiting in the wings behind Hooper, is acutely aware of this and does not intend to squander his opportunity.
Even so, he remains focused on the next challenge ahead and revealed he is not getting too caught in his long-term future with the Wallabies.
“I’m doing a job for a team at the moment and I just want to, like I said, do him proud, do the jersey proud and do the team proud,” he said.
“If he comes back and starts at seven then, he’s a legend in the game, and that’s what’s going to happen.”
It remains unclear when Hooper will make his Australia return, or indeed whether he will return to resume his captaincy.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments