Covid costs Hooper world record for 100 caps

Michael Hooper will become the youngest Wallaby to reach 100 Test caps when he leads a new-look side against the All Blacks.

Michael Hooper has been denied the record as the youngest to reach 100 Tests

Michael Hooper will lead the Wallabies into a new era against the All Blacks at Sky Stadium, Wellington on Sunday but first of all there is the small matter of capping his “old” work over the last eight years.

The first Bledisloe clash of 2020 will mark Hooper’s 100th international and, while the wonder is that he or any of the other 22 players who turned out against Scotland on June 5, 2012 in Newcastle ever played another Test – Australia lost 9-6 in a diabolically dreadful performance in the wildest weather the Wallabies have ever played in – the fact is that he has since become the beating heart of the Australian side.

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Yet, despite being named captain at the age of 22 – the youngest since Ken Catchpole led the Wallabies as a 21-year-old in 1961 – and twice being voted the John Eales medallist by his teammates, Hooper regularly antagonises a knot of Wallabies supporters simply by being named in the side.

That shouldn’t bother him. Four Wallabies coaches – Robbie Deans, Ewen McKenzie, Michael Cheika and now Dave Rennie – have picked him for Australia, with the latter three making him captain. That pretty much settles the issue of whether he deserves to be there.

While still 11 days short of his 29th birthday, he will become the youngest of the 12 Australians ever to register a Test century. He would have broken the world record currently held by All Black lock Sam Whitelock for the quickest to reach the milestone at eight years and 67 days had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic.

But instead of leading out Australia on July 4 this year against Ireland – eight years and 29 days since his debut against the Scots – he has been made to wait a further 106 days to achieve the milesteone.

A soaked Michael Hooper during his debut Test against Scotland in 2012. Picture: Getty Images

There is no question that the Wallabies will be a new-look team under an old captain when they take on New Zealand. The question is: How much of a new-look team?

Noah Lolesio v James O’Connor at five-eighth? Nic White or Tate McDermott at halfback? Tom Banks at fullback or veteran Dane Haylett-Petty? Or Banks on the wing?

And so it goes throughout the side. Just for the record, Banks naturally said he would be happy to play anywhere in the backline. “But I do prefer fullback,” he said on Monday.

At the moment, Rennie is able to keep his entire squad of 44 working at fever pitch. The Test side will not be made public until Friday although chances are that the players will have the news broken to them somewhat earlier. At that moment any advantages of selecting 44 players to go inside the quarantine bubble will tend to evaporate.

After the announcement is made, the team will split into the 23 players who will be used in the Test and the remaining 21 who will carry the tackle shields. It’s an inevitable reality but still a painful one for those who miss out and Rennie’s renowned team-building skills will surely be put to the test.

After a rest day on Monday, training resumes on Tuesday with Queensland captain Liam Wright telling RadioTAB that competition for spots is becoming ferocious.

And nothing is being taken for granted. Wright played most of last season as an openside flanker for the Reds and was named for his Test debut in that position.

This season he has moved to blindside flanker to accommodate Fraser McReight, who is vying with Hooper for the seven jersey.

Yet even that is not enough. Rennie is a firm believer in learning by doing and he has used Wright as a number eight in training, simply to ensure he knows what the demands of the position might be.