Rugby World Cup: Wallabies star Michael Hooper fires warning shot at England and Wales
IN an exclusive interview with foxsports.com.au, Wallabies star Michael Hooper has fired a Rugby World Cup warning shot at England and Wales.
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WALLABIES vice-captain Michael Hooper has warned England and Wales to target their much scrutinised scrum at their peril.
Despite Australia’s historical scrummaging woes, the pack has fronted up so far in 2015, putting in more than competitive shifts against the might of New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina — then dominating the USA in the one-off Test in Chicago.
But the general northern hemisphere opinion is that things will revert to type in the Rugby World Cup group of death, where the Wallabies are pooled with England, Wales, Fiji and Uruguay.
England’s World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward was the latest to question the strength of the Wallabies’ scrum and label it as an Achilles heel.
But Hooper, the outstanding openside flanker, said such accusations were off the mark.
In an exclusive interview with foxsports.com.au before he left for the World Cup, Hooper said the set-piece was in fact shaping as a strength, not a weakness.
WATCH HOOPER’S ‘THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME’ IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE!
AUSSIE SCRUM A STRENGTH, NOT A WEAKNESS
“I’ve been really impressed with how the guys have been going,” Hooper said during a Red Bull video shoot for ‘The Game Within The Game’ at Brookvale Oval.
“There’s some new guys in there, Scotty Sio’s done tremendously well, Keps [Sekope Kepu] is playing great footy and the subs in the first three games [of The Rugby Championship] won us each game.
“They came on and made that difference.
“The scrums — there’s no hiding from it, it’s going to be massive come the World Cup.
“We know the teams we’re going to face in the pool have really good scrums and it’s nice to see now that we’re getting a bit of confidence behind that part of our game and it’s going to be something we can definitely grow at the World Cup.”
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While the World Cup will be the real litmus test, there is no doubt Australia’s scrum has improved under coaches Michael Cheika and Mario Ledesma — the former Argentina hooker.
Asked if England and Wales were in for a shock, Hooper said: “I’m very confident in how the guys are going, the tight-five particularly.
“They really stood up in The Rugby Championship and Bledisloe [Cup] so I don’t think it would be a good thing to do, for the opposition to go in thinking we’ve got an easy scrum or easy maul.
“I think it’s definitely an area we’ve improved on lately.
“The set-piece is going to be remarkably important.
“Scrum, lineout, mauls — those three parts of the game are going to dictate how a lot of games are won.
“If we can give our backs — who are outstanding — some nice platform ball then we’re going to go a long way to winning a lot of games.”
HOOPER’S RUGBY WORLD CUP MEMORIES
It is easy to forget that Hooper is just 23-years-old — turning 24 just two days before the World Cup final.
There was no long apprenticeship for the former beach sprint champion, who has already racked up an incredible 46 Tests since his 2012 debut.
He was just eight when Australia last won the World Cup, thrashing France 35-12 in the 1999 final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
“I think every rugby player in Australia has got the image of the ‘99 team,” Hooper said.
“I was eight then and I’ve got that image in my head, of them holding the trophy there and it’s certainly something that you think about.
“And the first actual World Cup experience for me — I went to the ‘03 semi-final, Australia against the Kiwis and that was a great win for the Aussies that night [22-10 in Sydney].
“So that’s one that’s pretty clear in my head.”
He might be a forward, but Hooper runs like a back and his personal World Cup heroes are a couple of playmakers.
“I thought George Gregan and Stephen Larkham were just awesome,” he said.
“I’ve got a clear image in my head of their play and how well they worked in attack together and their consistency to get the wins.
“And then obviously Larkham’s drop goal was pretty special in the semi against the South Africans in ‘99.”
THIRD TIME LUCKY IN THE UK?
Both of Australia’s World Cup wins have come in the United Kingdom, with Nick Farr-Jones the first Wallabies captain to lift the Webb Ellis Cup at Twickenham in 1991.
Asked if that rich history instilled confidence or was daunting, Hooper said: “The memories of the ‘99 team and the images of them holding the trophy, it’s something that you just want to be a part of and you want to try and get your own slice of that.
“You can draw on those things but we’ve got to be unique and bond as a group and we’ve been doing that.
“There’s a good feeling within the camp.”
Cheika has worked hard to build connections with the past, asking the class of ‘99 to ring the 2015 squad members to tell them they had made the cut.
While grateful, Hooper said the current team was also aware of the need to build its own identity.
“We’ve got to be unique, we’ve got to develop our own thing but we do have Stephen Larkham as an assistant coach so he’s been great, really helpful for us.
“He’s developing our back play nicely.
“After playing a couple of Tests, it’s starting to sink as to how big the occasion is and how exciting it is as well.
“It’s a first [World Cup] for me so I’m not really sure how it’s going to play out.
“But we’ve got a lot of experienced heads there that have told me that it does go very quickly but it’s very intense within that time.
“I’m excited to learn these new things and be involved in that group.”
MOVING ON FROM LAST YEAR’S DRAMA
The Wallabies enter the World Cup as the world’s second-ranked side, having gone three from three in the truncated Rugby Championship.
Under Cheika they appear a happy, settled and hungry squad — a far cry from the annus horribilis of 2014.
The Wallabies imploded under former coach Ewen McKenzie, who walked the plank following the Kurtley Beale-Di Patston scandal.
Hooper was in the thick of the drama, having been appointed captain following the season-ending injury to Stephen Moore.
It was a baptism of fire for such a young man but Hooper said he wouldn’t change it for the world.
“It was an absolute privilege to captain your country and I loved every minute I was in there.
“I had some tough times, yes, but it was such a privileged position to be captaining your country.
“You do what you have to do, I was given that role and I enjoyed it.
“I think I’ve grown as a person, in trying to deal with some of those things, and to have it happen early on in my career.”
Asked what specific things he’d learnt from the experience, Hooper said: “It taught me that when you get those highs, to really, really enjoy them and also learn from the lows.
“It’s still pretty fresh so I can’t really look back and say exactly what I learnt from that.
“Maybe in a couple of years I can look back and go ‘oh jeez, I learnt a lot there and grew as a person there.’
“I’m really enjoying being vice-captain and Moorey’s doing a great job with the team along with Cheik, who’s really galvanising the group.”
AN INSIGHT INTO CHEIKA
Cheika is a fascinating character and regarded as a master motivator — able to recognise when to administer tough love or put an arm around a player.
The only off-field scandal so far this season has been Quade Cooper’s Twitter outburst in Argentina — and Cheika quickly nipped it in the bud.
Hooper is well versed in Cheika’s methods from his time with the Waratahs and said he had built an unrelenting attitude in the squad.
“It’s just being honest and working hard.
“You get the respect of everyone in the squad if you’re working hard on the training paddock and out on the footy field as well.
“We work hard every day and that’s going to put us in good stead.
“We’re not looking at a massive big picture, we’re looking at minimising it and going day to day, really.
“I definitely think we’re training better and more consistently.
“If we keep striving to be better each day it’s going to be better for us as a group and as individuals.”
Despite winning The Rugby Championship, Hooper said the Wallabies hadn’t “done anything yet,” with the World Cup the only real prize in 2015.
PLAYING WITH POCOCK
Intrigue abounds as to how Cheika will use Hooper and David Pocock, the second world class No 7 at his disposal.
The dynamic duo have only started one Test together — with Pocock at No 8 — and it worked a treat, with the Wallabies outplaying the All Blacks at the breakdown in Sydney.
While it would seem logical to unleash both from the outset at the World Cup there are no guarantees that will happen.
Cheika is big on having quality “finishers” adding second half impact from the bench.
“It’s up to the coach on how he wants to run with us but I’ve really enjoyed playing with Poey — whether we start together or one of us comes off the bench,” Hooper said.
“When we started together we had a good result and we learnt a lot about each other, finally playing a lot of minutes together.
“It worked and now it’s up to the coach.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he utilises it again.
“Me and Poey have bounced ideas off each other.
“He’s a hard trainer so it ups your training level and it has been really beneficial for the team.
“He carries himself well.”
WHY THE GROUP OF DEATH COULD BE A BLESSING
If you gave the Wallabies truth serum, they would surely prefer an easier draw than Pool A.
It seems daft that at least one of the world’s top-five teams will crash out of the tournament before the quarterfinals but on the flip side any team that progresses will be battle-hardened.
“All games are going to be tough, not just England and Wales,” Hooper said.
“Everyone’s going to be tough to beat.
“But if we get through that, we know that you’ve got to beat everyone to win the World Cup.
“We’re comfortable with that and excited about that challenge.
“To win it, we know we’re going to have to play England and probably the All Blacks at some stage.
“You’ve just got to come to terms with that.”
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Originally published as Rugby World Cup: Wallabies star Michael Hooper fires warning shot at England and Wales
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