Wallabies may be without Michael Hooper at the World Cup

A smashing by the All Blacks wasn’t the worst news for the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign and Eddie Jones is asking for fans to pray.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 29: Allan Alaalatoa of the Wallabies reacts to an injury during the The Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup match between the Australia Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks at Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 29, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

The Wallabies World Cup leadership could take another massive hit with Michael Hooper no certainly to make it to France after a horror night at the MCG which left coach Eddie Jones conceding his team was a long way off a unit able to compete with the world’s best.

Jones defended his selection of rookie playmaker Carter Gordon to start just his third Test against the All Blacks and said he took “total responsibility” for the 38-7 defeat which consigned the Wallabies to a 22nd straight year without lifting the Bledisloe Cup and a third straight loss under his tenure.

Despite the six try to one shellacking, however, Jones was adamant that his team could “turn it around” before the World Cup, although the seven days before the return clash with the Kiwis in Dunedin may not be enough time to reverse Saturday’s result.

“I saw enough today to make me believe we can (turn it around),” Jones said in the aftermath of the loss.

“But there‘s a lot of hard work to do. Transforming a team from where they are now to a team that’s capable of beating New Zealand takes a lot of hard work and the clock’s ticking.

Eddie Jones chats to Carter Gordon at the MCG (Photo by William WEST / AFP) /

“But we’ve still got enough time. Every day counts. We might have to train on the plane on the way over.

“Where there‘s life there’s hope. I’ve coached teams like this before and you can turn it around.

“I saw enough today there to know that we can be a bloody good team. And it doesn’t look like it at the moment. You’re sitting there thinking , “What’s this bloke talking about?” .

“We can turn around be very good to say for the fans, they gotta keep being hopeful. Keep praying. Whatever God they’ve got. Keep praying to that. We will turn it around.”

Jones didn’t want to rule Hooper, who is battling a calf injury which the coach called “very serious”, out of the World Cup, but conceded it was not cut and dry he would be there.

“When you have a serious injury there are deadlines and we need to find out the deadline,” he said.

The absence of Hooper would compound the loss of co-captain Allan Alaalatoa who hurt his Achilles at the MCG with an injury cloud also over fellow front-rower Taniela Tupou.

But Jones was maintaining his best levels of hope having seen good things in the opening 20 minutes of the clash before his team “ran out of gas”.

“When you’re not going well everything tends to all happen,” he said.

“And then something happens and it all turns around.

Allan Alaalatoa reacts to his injury w Zealand All Blacks at Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 29, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

“And we’re just going to got to keep working hard, keep concentrating on the things that are important.

“The good thing for me if we if we went out today and couldn’t play with any cohesiveness or any connection, in the first 20 minutes I’d be putting up my hands and thinking what’s going on here.

“But I didn’t. I saw a team that was that was cohesive connected knew how we wanted to beat New Zealand, but we weren’t quite good enough.

“You get a bit of a whooping, and the injuries come.

“I‘m so proud of our players the way they’ve gone about their work. You know, they’ve worked really hard, but we know it’s not good enough.

“But that’s my fault. That’s my responsibility and I’ll take it on the chin.”