Rugby Championship: Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper looking forward to Isi Naisarani debut against Springboks
Michael Hooper, for one, is happy new cap Isi Naisarani is on his side for a change as the Wallabies look to end 56 years of heartache by beating the Springboks in Johannesburg.
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Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper is excited about the readiness of debutant Isi Naisarani to duel with South Africa’s vaunted backrow in the first Test of World Cup year.
Hooper said the powerful 110kg Fijian’s long journey to win his first Wallaby jersey would only feed the right mindset to make the most of it at Ellis Park in Johannesburg early on Sunday morning (EST).
The Wallabies are four-point underdogs with sports bookies yet, if their new patterns and fundamentals click, they are capable of their first victory here since the late John Thornett’s 1963 team silenced 65,000 South African fans.
The Springboks have left pack trumps like hooker Malcolm Marx, lock RG Snyman and No.8 Duane Vermeulen out of their side because they have already been dispatched in a large advance party for Wellington to prepare for the All Blacks on July 27.
What it has done is highlight the vast depth in forwards that the Boks can harness for their home Test.
The Wallabies still have to blunt Francois Louw, a 65-Test warrior, standout Pieter-Steph du Toit and Toulouse-based debutant Rynhardt Elstadt in a fine Boks backrow.
Hard-on-the ball flanker Marcell Coetzee will come off the bench.
Naisarani, 25, learnt his trade in Super Rugby at three clubs while waiting three years for his residential qualification so he could be eligible for his new country.
“He’s a tough, tough customer. He’s been wanting to be in this jersey for a long time so it’s great reward,” Hooper said.
“There’s a lot of years waiting in the ranks for this opportunity in what is historically such a proud tradition of No.8s (for Australia).
“I’m excited to be playing with him rather than against him as I’ve done a lot.”
Naisarani has a specialist No.8’s skills at gathering the bobbling ball at the back of scrums as well as the other attributes he will contribute beside Hooper and heavy-hitting Lukhan Salakaia-Loto.
“There’s a good balance of mobility, some ball-carriers and guys who want to get their hands on the opposition in defence,” Hooper said of the new Wallabies’ backrow blend for this Test.
“I know the South Africans have a great presence around the ball with Louw and Coetzee.”
It will be Hooper’s first Test at the high-altitude fortress which is forever in South African folklore as the scene of the epic 1995 World Cup final triumph.
“I’ve played a few times here for the Waratahs and Brums but never played a Test so it will be pretty cool,” Hooper said.
Hooper and fly half Bernard Foley haven’t played for six weeks since their last Super Rugby game for the Waratahs on June 8 which has given them a chance to recharge and devote himself to a month of Wallabies’ preparations.
“We’ve had a bit of a silver lining the last few weeks with teams not making the play-offs because we’ve been able to work with the majority of the squad together for a while,” Hooper said.
“It’s sort of like coming off a pre-season for some us because it’s been a while since games.
“Building that belief in the way we want to play and committing to it has been really important for us (in this period).
“We want to roll it out against a team that doesn’t know what we can do.”
South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus said the Wallabies would miss their “aerial master” Israel Folau and it may be that the Boks use more contestable kicks now he is missing from the team.
“The aerial side, like the breakdown, is a big contest in every Test,” Hooper said.
Hooper is upbeat that the season is set to get underway and momentum can be chased for the World Cup in two months.
“We do want to build momentum and we’ve been committed to the way we want to play to get it at training,” he said.
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