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International

Report: Michael Hooper to make shock code switch after Wallabies axing

By Kim Ekin

327 days ago

Michael Hooper of the Wallabies looks on during The Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies at Eden Park on August 14, 2021 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)

Former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper is set to switch rugby codes in 2024 after he was left out of Eddie Jones’ Rugby World Cup squad.

According to a report by Iain Payten of the Sydney Morning Herald, the 31-year-old flanker is set to accept a contract with the Sevens programme with an eye to Paris for the 2024 Olympics with the Australian men’s Sevens side.

The Test centurion is looking at a one-year commitment and would first feature on the World Rugby Sevens circuit with Australia before the Olympics.

Hooper would expected to be a star attraction for the new Perths Sevens event in January, after the event moved from Sydney.

Australia gained automatic qualification for the Olympics after finishing fifth this year on the World Series.

Hooper’s five-year deal with Rugby Australia is set to expire at the end of 2023 and the openside flanker has expressed interest in a switch to Sevens in the past, with the gruelling fitness requirements and the chance to win a gold medal appealing to the No 7.

Should Hooper go through with the switch, he would join stars Quade Cooper and Samu Kerevi as high profile Wallabies to make the move in recent years.

France’s superstar Antoine Dupont is also reportedly considering the 2024 Olympics as well.

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Comments

4 Comments

dan 326 days ago

No shock. It’s been planned for some time. Yesterday’s news.

Jim 326 days ago

Hardly a code-switch. A misleading headline. Rugby Sevens is rugby.

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RW 12 hours ago

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Improve the the chat, block Turlough

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WR 17 hours ago

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WR 18 hours ago

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