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‘Was pretty nervy: What Michael Hooper thought of SVNS debut against Fiji
Michael Hooper has played more than 120 Test matches in the 15s game, is a four-time John Eales Medallist, and the former Wallabies captain can now add SVNS Series debutant to his incredible rugby resume.
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Hooper, 32, was made to wait for his first match at the prestigious Hong Kong Sevens on Friday, with the likes of South Africa and New Zealand playing both of their fixtures before Australia’s opening pool clash.
But on a beautiful night in Hong Kong China, thousands of vibrant rugby fans momentarily stood silent as Australia prepared to take the field for their Pool A clash with traditional SVNS HKG heavyweights Fiji.
Henry Hutchison led the team out to celebrate his 50th international sevens tournament, and others in gold jerseys followed closely behind – including Hooper who was near the back.
“Here comes the big man”
Michael Hooper makes his #HSBCSVNS debut 😍#HSBCSVNSHKG | @Aussie7s pic.twitter.com/8mtTNcyPzn
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) April 5, 2024
Hooper came on as a replacement late in the second-half but almost immediately made an impact with an impressive double tackle. ‘Hoops’ also got the ball out wide in space once and sealed the 12-nil win with a trademark steal at the breakdown in the final play.
“Luckily for me, I think there were a couple of stoppages, a couple of knock-ons,” Hooper told RugbyPass & SVNS Series.
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“I’ve heard about the humidity here in Hong Kong and there’s a nice breeze but the ball is still quite wet.
“That allowed for me to catch my breath a couple of times.
“I think that game suited me there,” he added later.
“It wasn’t too expansive, it wasn’t just (defending) in open field which I’m really learning and seeing it’s a different art in sevens.
“That game was a lot of rough and tumble in the middle of the field. Pleased that it kept it to that for the first hit out.”
Australia’s James Turner opened the scoring out wide in the fifth minute and milestone man Henry Hutchison added another try to their lead during the second term.
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The Aussies raced out to a 12-nil lead over the now-Osea Kolinisau-coached Fiji side, and did so with their marquee debutant watching on from the sidelines.
After waiting all day to play, Hooper was made to wait just that little bit longer to officially take the field on the SVNS Series. But when he began to stretch late in the contest, the camera quickly panned to the former Wallaby.
Anticipation for Hooper’s debut continued to grow and grow, and eventually, fans were rewarded for their patience – and so was Hooper – as the Australian rugby legend graced the international sevens field for the first time on the Series.
“My nerves started going up and up and up,” Hooper reflected.
“We get two tries up but I know that Fiji can score two tries in about two seconds, so to come on in the dying minutes there was pretty nervy.
“I came on, Nick Malouf was great, guided me around. I just made my tackles, I made a few of those over my career so just stick to the script.”
Comments on RugbyPass
When you read those facts, you can say safely that the game was handed to the Springboks by the ruling mistakes made by the Referee and TMO. Perhaps that is why South Africans were/are so “noisey” about the win…. Certainly not a good look for the IRB going forward…pretty shoddy sadly.
48 Go to commentsI must admit to being quite surprised by all the wine-ing and hand wringing from most AB pundits; commentators and the general analysis after a classic and engrossing final. I shudder to think how the pundits would’ve reacted if the AB’s where victors with 1 point on the day.. Most Bok fans pundits; fans and commentators take a loss on the chin; congratulate the winner and move on…and till now the NZ rugby fans where the same.. Naas Botha’s famous quote has never been more apt…. Cowboys don’t cry or make excuses.. STOP IT CRY-BABIES; …..YOU LOST.
48 Go to comments4 out of 8 beats 3 out of 10 cups. Maybe NZ are bad finishers???🤣🤣🤣
48 Go to commentsBokke bokke Bokke
1 Go to commentsThe main thing you need on your side to win a World Cup is luck. ABs had their fair share of it in the 2011 final. One score game in the SF vs Springboks in 2015 means there always things you can look at and say if this thing or that thing happened then SA would/should have won that game. Smith’s try being called back broke protocol, but it was the correct decision, so I don’t have a problem with that. If it was an SA try called back in the same circumstances I don’t think many ABS fans would have a problem with it. Cane’s shot was high, it was the classic thing NZ players have been doing, and getting carded for for years - Walking around bolt upright trying to put a big hit on someone. Stupid play by someone with a poor disciplinary record. The one that was a big problem for me was Etzebeth’s obstruction. The referee just choked on this occasion. Frustrating to have the TMO in his ear all night, apart from at this moment. Minimum yellow card for Etzebeth, but a very strong case for a penalty try also. Despite all that the ABs had the opportunity to be ahead with 3 minutes to play, so it’s hard to point fingers too much. Pollard makes that kick 99/100. JB and RM make it 50/100. That’s what it came down to in the end.
48 Go to commentsBOKS had a great side in 2011 and were in kicked out by a NZ ref and Nz were very lucky to win in final against France.
48 Go to commentsBarrett's try came from a forward pass, and perhaps the Bok game plan would have been different had the ABs remained with 15 on the pitch. We will never know. But if we are living in a world if what if's, then go back to the France v Bok game. France dominated the WC, and had they gotten past the boks, would have easily beaten the ABs in the Final
48 Go to commentsRehashed articles. But this piece does not do justice to how good the Boks had to be to win that tournament, and how immense some of their players were in that final. Peter Stef du Toit played one of the greatest games by a loose forward ever. All Blacks played well but not well enough and came up short. There are a million ‘if’s’ and none of the ‘if’s’ that don’t happen will win you a footy match.
48 Go to commentsSour grapes/ face it the allblacks aren't that good anymore LoL!!!
48 Go to commentsDear Internet, This is what sour grapes look like… It wont make any difference in down playing the SA win. The scoreboard is the ultimate statistic. I agree with Johnz, I would have liked a full 15vs15 for the whole game. Could have been even better or worse. What we as rugby supporters got, was a fantastic game where the result could have gone either way. It was great.
48 Go to commentsben loser smith. I haven't read the article. Just saw the headline and knew it was him. Rugbypass surely you can do better than this clickbate loser.
48 Go to commentsIf if if….If my aunt had balls she would be my uncle
48 Go to commentsBen is right, the RWC should be taken from SA and awarded to NZ. Rugby matches from now on will not be decided on points but rather on who deserved to win the most. This will be decided by 1 journalist sitting in a bunker.
48 Go to commentsThat's quite a wind up Ben. I'm an all black fan, and admittedly the loss felt a little hollow, given how well the boys played once Cane left the field. But that's finals footy, sometimes it's cruel. Let's look at the reality though. This was a team that spent an entire year thinking about how to beat Ireland, and did so magnificently. Come final time, they started the match looking overawed, fearful and unprepared. This led them to getting behind on the scoreboard, and chasing the game, which is never a good position to be in a final. SA started better, were confident and assured. That, in the end, was the game. The comeback led by Savea was phenomenal, but not quite enough. That's how comebacks often go. The real questions should be why they looked so unprepared? Why we needed to get behind and lose our so called leader to start playing? And why the best player against SA from a month or two before wasn't even in the team? Plus give some credit where it's due, PSD was quite phenomenal and instrumental in keeping SA ahead, a performance for the ages.
48 Go to commentsMy only response is “Check the Scoreboard” nothing else matters. Ben you will not wind me up pal. Boks are 4 times RWC Champions.
48 Go to commentsThere is no place to hide in the front row. You win or lose each time and it selects for hard men/women and those who enjoy combat
7 Go to commentsThey might have won several different areas on the field but the one that ultimately counts is on the scoreboard. Ben Smith’s nonsense is still shown up for what it is following criticisings by his team’s coach claiming similar nonsenses and several other players as well. I am not an expert but I know All Blacks know that the game is won by the team with more points on the board than the opposition. Also the red card on Sam Cane is entirely his own fault. If they were aggrieved for having one less player on the pitch, that was their own fault, their own captain who possibly in a moment of forgetfulness tackled too high but either way it is a RWC Final, you cannot be having lapses of forgetfulness in a match like that. The fact that they were down a man for 64 minutes was their fault. And even if they did dominate the second half for 35 minutes, they had crossed the whitewash twice, they had several kicks at goal, the fact is they didn't maximize on all the opportunities they were given. The one try was disallowed, the two kicks at goal were missed, the opportunities not taken. Every tackle was made by the Springboks with so much more fervour than anyone had seen even in the Semi Final the week previously. Whatever Ben Smith says, most of what he says can be chalked down to a spoiled sport who has nothing better to say than whine and moan because ultimately the team he supports lost when it mattered most.
48 Go to commentsThere’s plenty I could write on this, I won’t stop if I really get going, so i’ll make just 2 important points. Don’t forget that SA didn’t have a hooker, don’t discount that fact. I would have taken MBONAMBI fit for the game over a yellow to Frizelle. Also you forget that NZ had the luxury of playing without pressure once the red came. Noone expected them to win and they could always fall back on 14 men if they lost. I’d also have taken 15 men NZ and MBONAMBI on the field over what transpired.
48 Go to commentsSome people in France say that JB Lafont have some problems with alcohol….
2 Go to commentsThis is awesome news. I hope he goes well.
1 Go to comments