Wallabies legend comes to Hooper's defence after his captaincy again questioned by fans
Following the Wallabies third draw of the season, one former Wallaby legend has come out in defence of current captain Michael Hooper ,who’s win record in charge of the side continues to slide.
Among the criticism for Hooper’s actions by fans was the assertion that his captaincy is often off the mark, in terms of tactical decision-making for his side. The Wallabies turned down multiple chances for points throughout the match, particularly in the first half, which ended up costing them by full time.
Matt Giteau, who played with Hooper in the national setup during his 103-test career, went to Twitter to defend his former teammate saying he is ‘clearly our best leader’ and ‘most consistent performer’ before adding that his decsion making ‘from the games I’ve watched’ has been okay.
I find it ridiculous that Micheal Hooper is getting questioned about being @wallabies captain going forward. He is clearly our best leader & our most consistent performer. His leadership & decision making, from the games Ive watched, have been ??
???
— Matt Giteau ?? (@giteau_rugby) December 5, 2020
Therein lies the issues with the Hooper debate. Giteau’s first reaction going to bat for Hooper is to highlight his actions as a ‘consistent’ performer, but doesn’t seperate Hooper the player from Hooper the captain.
Fans on Twitter highlighted they were two different debates, and vented over the decisions he made during the game which led to their eventual draw. One fan asked, ‘when will he learn?’ after turning down 9 points in the first 12 minutes of the test.
Another claimed ‘he consistently makes terrible decisions’ so ‘why is he captain?’. Others pointed to the ill-discipline of the side, saying they need a leader who leads by example.
Think Hooper is an excellent player but not sure he’s a captain. Need someone to pull them together, enforce discipline and stick to their game plan #AUSvARG
— Vivienne (@viviennecichero) December 5, 2020
Well I have said my piece on Hooper as a captain. I don't think he has it. This Oz team needs a new identity. Rennie maybe just seeing what he had to work with and will tinker next year.
— ??????? s?????s (@rugbycology) December 5, 2020
Rennie yes.
Hooper no. He needs to just be your number 7, he needs some instability and to be under threat. Be can't be as captain.
— thedeadballarea (@thedeadballarea) December 5, 2020
Quick takeaways:
1. Koroibete MIA
2. Petaia is garbage
3. Hooper surely has played his last game as captain.
4. Hodge = Jack of All Trades Master of None
#AUSvARG— Zainal Rahiman (@Zainal_Rahiman) December 5, 2020
Hooper should of been dropped as captain when the new coach came in. He makes consistently makes terrible decisions. He can't captain the Waratards. So why is he captain of the wallabies??
— ENJAYF (@RugbySheep) December 5, 2020
What's Hooper's win loss as a captain. Pretty dismal I would think. #AUSvARG
— Dan (@d__marks) December 5, 2020
Hooper has many, many admirable qualities and his work rate is second to none, but the captain should not be doing things which attract a yellow card.#AUSvARG
— Sarah Hunter (@EsseHunter) December 5, 2020
@wallabies HOOPER WOULD HAVE TO BE THE WORST AUSTRALIAN CAPTAIN EVER!!!#EXITHOOPER
— G.Madison (@Glennmadison12) December 5, 2020
During the week Hooper said he hadn’t thought about stepping down as captain, and questioned reporters for asking him.
“Haven’t thought about it. Why would I? I’m focused on Saturday,” Hooper said when asked if he’d considered handing over the armband.
“It’s a massive privilege to captain your country. I’ve been very lucky to do it on many occasions and I love that.
The captain earned another yellow card to add to his record, the most in test history, on a clean out on Pumas flyhalf Nico Sanchez that made contact with the head.
The decision was deemed controversial by Fox Sports commentators who questioned what else the Wallaby captain could do in the situation. Phil Kearns went as far as to call the decision ‘rubbish’, as well as Marcos Kremer’s sin binning for a similar clean out on James O’Connor.
“It’s just rubbish,” he said.
“Both of those yellow cards are ridiculous.”
“It’s a really difficult part of the game,” Tim Horan added.
“If a player is trying to steal the ball and you’re trying to clean it out, there is going to be contact around the shoulders and the head if you are that low down.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments