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'So stoked to have him back': Waratahs excited by Michael Hooper's return
After a two-year absence from Super Rugby, Wallabies captain Michael Hooper returned to action for the Waratahs in their 38-14 win over the Fijian Drua on the Gold Coast on Friday.
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Absent from last year’s winless campaign as he enjoyed a season-long sabbatical with Toyota Verblitz in Japan’s Top League, Hooper helped propel the Waratahs to their fourth victory of the season with a try-scoring appearance from the bench.
The 30-year-old flanker cashed in on some brilliant drawing and passing by his teammates about 12 minutes after his introduction to the match, dotting down right by the posts to score his side’s fifth and penultimate try.
It was an apt way to mark his first outing in the revamped Super Rugby Pacific, even if he was fortunate to have scored the try after having misread the slick move that illustrated the deft distribution skills of the Waratahs forwards.
The soft hands of No 8 Will Harris and stand-in captain Jed Holloway were enough to put first-five Tane Edmed into a gap, which he burst through with Hooper hanging just outside his right shoulder in support.
However, Hooper appeared to look for a short ball by running a tight line rather than staying out wide, which was where most of the space was.
Nevertheless, Edmed was still able to suck in two Drua defenders and slip the ball into the hands of Hooper, who had a clear run to the line from close range.
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“Funnily enough, it was Jed’s beautiful little ball to Tane [that created the try], and I’ll get into Hoops later because he ran the wrong line,” Waratahs head coach Darren Coleman joked after the match.
“He didn’t even know that play. He didn’t know the call. It was a play he hasn’t seen or practiced yet. He was meant to bounce out, not come in, but luckily it still worked. He popped up in support.”
Despite Hooper’s evident lack of cohesion with his teammates after having missed the first part of this season due to extended leave, Coleman remained excited about having his star man back on deck for the remainder of the season.
“Jed’s probably better to comment what he adds around the group on the field, but I know he was excited and he was nervous, and at half-time, he wasn’t missing anything. He was bouncing around, getting warm, ready to play, so it’s great,” Coleman said.
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“I think he’ll grow from that and he’ll get more confident, more match fit and he’ll be a trojan for us like he has been for everyone else he’s played for.”
Holloway, who played alongside Hooper at Toyota Verblitz last year, joined Coleman in expressing his optimism about the prospect of having the 2021 World Rugby Player of the Year nominee back in a playing capacity.
“As well as what he offers on the field, just another steady head around helping me out, leadership and guiding these young guys around,” Holloway said post-match.
“After spending a year with him in Japan, and really spent a lot of time with him, I’m so stoked to have him back around the squad. What he adds in terms of experience and leadership is invaluable, so it’s just exciting.
“Exciting that he’s getting in some minutes and he’s fresh, he’s had 16 weeks off, even though he’s not getting too much sleep at the moment with the little one, but he’s itching to get some more minutes up his sleeve. Can’t wait to play with him more.”
This weekend’s win elevates the Waratahs to fourth place leading into next week’s bye, before they face the Western Force in Perth in what will be their final match against an Australian team ahead of six straight matches against Kiwi opposition.
Those six matches, which will close out their regular season, will be difficult to snare victories from given the dire record Australian franchises have against their New Zealand counterparts.
The Waratahs, for example, haven’t won against a Kiwi team since their victory over the Crusaders in March 2019.
For that reason, Coleman understands the importance of securing wins against fellow Australian outfits, and the Fijian Drua, before heading into their trans-Tasman fixtures, which get underway during Melbourne’s Super Round in three weeks.
“We come back from the bye and we’ve got [the Force] in Perth. For us, that’ll be closure on the Aussie leg of it, or our pool, or whatever you want to call it, and then we go into the final [six] games against the [New Zealand] pool,” Coleman said.
“Really important we get the win in Perth. We get the win, that’ll take us to 5-3 into the Kiwi leg. It’ll just take a little bit of pressure off.
“We’re obviously going to need a win or two in that Kiwi leg to make the playoffs, but I’d prefer to be only chasing one or two wins in that rather than three or four.
“For the moment, I just want the boys to enjoy the night. They’ve got a few days off now, so it’s awesome for them. They’ve been going hard for a while.
“Have a beer tonight, enjoy themselves and enjoy the bye, and then we’ve got to get over to Perth and win that one. That’s crucial.”
Comments on RugbyPass
9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
8 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
8 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
8 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
8 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to comments