The 'lonely' challenge the Wallabies must overcome to beat England
Michael Hooper reckons that, encircled by 80,000 people, Twickenham’s going to feel a lonely place for him and his Wallabies team – and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Australia’s captain is adamant England aren’t the most difficult opponents he’s had to face in his distinguished international career – “we play the Kiwis three times a year,” he shrugs – but the cold fact is that his record against them is his worst against any country.
In 11 matches against England stretching back nine years, he’s come off best just twice. That’s a win percentage of 18.18% – even more dismal than his record against the All Blacks.
Yet Hooper is adamant that “every opportunity is a new opportunity” and he’s dismissive of England coach Eddie Jones’ suggestion on Thursday that Australians have an “inferiority complex” when it comes to sporting contests against the “mother country”.
“I can’t speak for Eddie, I can’t speak for our guys – but I don’t feel that way,” Hooper told reporters on Friday morning.
He’s confident his side can upset the odds – but only if they can raise their level from last week’s underwhelming loss to the Scots at Murrayfield.
Asked how much better his patched-up Wallabies are going to have to be to earn their first win over England in the Jones era after seven straight defeats, Hooper said: “We’re going to need to be right at our best.
“What an occasion it’s going to be. England’s win against the Tongans last week was a glimpse of what it’s going to be like. A lot of our guys haven’t played up here and last week was the biggest crowd for some to face, and a vocal crowd as well.
“This week’s going to be a level up from last week. For the 15 of us out there and the finishers, it just feels like it’s going to be pretty lonely in there – and that’s a great place to be.
“We want to lay down a performance that we’re really proud of and our fans are proud of as well.
“It’s going to take some doing to win tomorrow, there’s no question, but these are the games you dream to be a part of as a young bloke, so we’re pretty excited.”
Pondering why the Wallabies’ record has been so poor against Jones’ England, Hooper said: “I can’t give you an answer – the team changes every year and though our record hasn’t been great, every opportunity is a new opportunity and a new game.
24 hours until kick off ? #ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/VPQaa6sYgJ
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“The ledger’s square tomorrow when we run out.”
It’s a long time since Hooper tasted victory over the English but his two victories did both come at Twickenham – back in 2012 and, even more satisfyingly, in the 2015 World Cup.
“It really feels like a long time ago, so I won’t reflect on them much at all, just like the history on the other (losing) side of the coin. It’s a new game tomorrow.”
He’s particularly excited for potential Wallaby debutant, prop Ollie Hoskins, who’s been plucked from English club rugby because of the injury problems in the pack and is set to make an unexpected debut off the bench.
“What a great story,” he said. “In terms of how much it means to someone like that and for all of the rest of us reflecting on that, it’s really cool.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments