Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Wallabies tweet: Hooper to head home Thursday, misses Wales game

Michael Hooper (Photo by Getty Images)

Former Australia captain Michael Hooper has been ruled out of the Wallabies’ Autumn Nations Series clash against Wales on Saturday. Flanker Hooper, who has won more than 120 caps, presented with concussion symptoms after playing a full part in Australia’s 13-10 loss to Ireland last weekend. The Wallabies said that 31-year-old Hooper would return home on Thursday.

ADVERTISEMENT

A message posted on the official Wallabies Twitter account read: “Hoops is out of this weekend’s Test against Wales. He’ll head back to home soil on Thursday. See you next year, Hoops.”

Hooper is the latest player to be sidelined during a punishing European tour that has seen successive defeats against France, Italy and Ireland. A number of his colleagues had already been ruled out of the Wales encounter in Cardiff, including centre Hunter Paisami, scrum-half Nic White and prop Taniela Tupou.

Video Spacer

Video Spacer

According to Wallabies officials, Hooper was ruled out on Monday after presenting with concussion symptoms but this wasn’t confirmed by the time fellow back-rower Jed Holloway addressed the media on Tuesday in Wales.

Instead, Holloway spoke about a casualty list that at the time affected Tupou (suspected ruptured achilles tendon), Paisami (medial ligament damage), outside back Andrew Kellaway, No8 Rob Valetini, hooker Dave Porecki (concussion) and White (concussion).

Related

“We are gutted for any guy we lose but Taniela in particular, he has had a fair run of injuries this year and genuinely put in the hard yards to try and get himself best available and find that form which he’s known for,” said Holloway about Tupou, who is now facing a race to be fit in time for the World Cup next September.

“To see him go down the way he did was pretty gut-wrenching but we know our medical staff here and doing everything they can to get the boys ready. We have just had a rough trot but we need to lick our wounds and go again because we have got a big Test at Principality this weekend.

ADVERTISEMENT

“What the injuries provide is a huge opportunity for guys coming in and those guys need to take it and we need to get a result.

ADVERTISEMENT
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 11 minutes ago
Beauden Barrett weighs in on controversial yellow card

It’s an interesting question because a normal diberate knock on is just a penalty offense, an normal infringement like any other, so that’s deemed where the was not a reasonable chance to catch the ball.


But it’s a ruling that can also be upgraded to a foul, and by association, a yellow card, when it’s it was also deliberately trying to deny the ball to another player. For instance, that is why they are just given penalties up the field, because the player has just made a bad decision (one where he had no reasonable chance) and he doesn’t really care if the pass had gone to hand for his opponents or not (he was just thinking about being a hero etc).


So the way the refs have been asked to apply the law is to basically just determine whether there was an overlap (and not to try and guess what the player was actually thinking) or not, as to whether it’s a penalty or a YC.


This is the part Barrett doesn’t like, he’s essentially saying “but I had no idea whether they were likely to score or not (whether there was an unmarked man), so how can you tell me I was deliberately trying to prevent it going to someone, it could have been a blind pass to no one”.


It’s WR trying to make it clear cut for fans and refs, if at the players expense.

But yes, also you must think it entirely possible given both were foul plays that they could both go to the bench. Much the same as we see regularly when even though the play scores a try, they have started sending the player off still.


And while I agree Narawa didn’t knock it on, I think the ball did go forward, just off the shoulder. As his hands were up in the air, above the ball, basically like a basketball hope over his right shoulder, I guess you’re right in that if it did make contact with his hands it would have had to be deflected backwards onto his shoulder etc. Looking at the replay, Le Garrec clearly lost control of the ball forward too, but because Barrett was deemed to have committed a deliberate act, that overrides the knockon from 9.


I just don’t understand how they can consider it a deliberate attempt to block a pass when he actually lost the ball forward!

44 Go to comments
H
Hellhound 2 hours ago
Bok rule-benders are changing the game. They deserve respect

You want a lot of things that will never happen. You describe rugby League. You should go and watch that then. Rugby is supposed to be competitive. It's the opposition team that should figure out how to defend and turn it into an attack on the fly. The Boks play within the rules. Everyone says that kick off should have been a penalty. The law state that from a kick off it's a scrum. It's confusing as with mauls and rucks, the player has to be behind the kicker. The same does not hold true for kick offs. That law they can change, because the same rule should apply across the board for players to be behind the kicker. It's not the first time that the infield lineout has been used, only the first time in an international match. If I remember correctly, the Barbarians used it against England in 2021 or 2022 (under correction). It's also been used in SR during the 2000’s. There is just this big hoo haw because the Boks did it. If it was another team like the Irish or England or the French or someone, it would be innovative, genius and brilliant. The dummy the AB's did where a player broke to the right, acting like he had the ball, meanwhile the scrumhalfs ran down the sideline and scored. I don't hear you cry about that. That can be seen as cynical play and there is even a case for unsportsmanlike behaviour and at a minimum a yellow card. Yet there is silence from you about that. I on the other hand thought that was a great tactic. It's also not a new invention, but an old one. You only love rugby when it suits you. I don't care what new tactics teams use, or whoever the team is that is doing it. Every new invention or tactic or play that the coaches comes up with is great for rugby. It keeps it interesting. There is no law that prevents other coaches using the same tactics or create their own. It's up to coaches to come up with defense strategies to cut that down, and even retaliate against it. The game is never boring. It keeps evolving. People keep talking about rugby and all these things is what draw new fans. They don't want boring. They want innovative and fun. They want to hear the crash of bodies. They want to see the strength of the scrums. They want to see the speed, agility and flair of the players. The amazing passes and jukes or side steps. The only reason you are so up in arms is because the Boks did it and now you want it banned. The same rhyme over and over. Matt Williams wannabe. Nah, you don't love rugby or else you would enjoy the most exciting era yet in this lovely sport. Stars in so many national teams has never been more abundant nor was there so many teams that could beat each other on any given day. Not to even mention watching an era of the most controversial but most innovative and clever coach ever. A dynasty that's to last for a very long time even after he retires. Like him or hate him, his genius is undeniable and he is recognised world wide as the best coach in most countries by fans and pundits alike, even if they don't like him. Stop the hate and rather enjoy what's to come.

39 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Rugby World Cup regulars torn apart by Uruguay in Montevideo Rugby World Cup regulars thrashed by Uruguay in Montevideo