Skipper Michael Hooper wouldn’t swap any of his Wallabies teammates for dominant All Blacks
HIS team has just suffered their sixth loss in seven Tests, conceded the Bledisloe Cup for a stunning 16th straight year and copped an Eden Park hiding — but Michael Hooper has given his teammates a stunning compliment.
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STOIC Wallabies captain Michael Hooper said he would not swap one of his players for an All Black and vowed to keep fighting until they turn their losing record around.
After suffering their sixth defeat in seven Tests, a 40-12 hammering at the hands of the All Blacks at Eden Park, Hooper showed total faith in his teammates.
“You look at the match-ups tonight of players and I’m keeping all our players, I’m not swapping anyone,” Hooper said.
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“So how we can get us as a group to reach our potential is the key, and I’m going to keep fighting and keep swinging until we get there.”
As like last week, when New Zealand pounced on lost Australian possession to run home 38-13 in Sydney, the Wallabies handed their rivals key turnovers and were punished by stunning counter-attacks.
“We’re not up to scratch there [defending turnovers], we’re not on the same page, we’re not reacting fast enough,” Hooper said.
“If you broke it down and slowed it we probably would be fine.
“New Zealand move the ball very quickly and by that time it’s all happening very fast and we’re not quick enough to get into that position and be one unit.
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“They made us pay again.
“In two weeks, 10 [All Blacks tries] off turnovers I think, it’s killing us.
“It’s too many in turnovers, we’ve got to fix it.”
Having addressed turnover defence in training this past week, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika was left deflated after seeing his side punished again that way.
“We need to get more people up on their feet when a turnover is on and get it done, close down the threat,” Cheika said.
“It’s only been the two games. It’s not like I’ve been talking about it for a year or anything like that.
“Against New Zealand it’s always a big threat, when you play against them, their ability to play off the turnover.
“So there are two parts to that equation — try not to turn it over as much and then when it does happen — because it will happen — you need to defend well.”
The Wallabies also butchered attacking raids when unmarked players screaming for the ball were ignored by ball-carriers who charged into the thick of the stretched All Blacks’ defence.
“We should have gone out the back and gone to those guys,” Cheika said.
“We’ve done that before, and we will do it again, it’s just the wrong decision at the wrong time.
“There’s no deep and dark reason why they happen, just the wrong decisions at the key moments.
“We should have gone out the back no doubt, we’ve been watching the game long enough, we’ve been watching the game long enough, you can see it happening, we should have gone out the back and we would have got a try.”
Originally published as Skipper Michael Hooper wouldn’t swap any of his Wallabies teammates for dominant All Blacks