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How do you solve a problem like Michael Hooper?

Roar Guru
21st July, 2015
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Michael Hooper must perform as he has McMahon breathing down his neck. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Roar Guru
21st July, 2015
80
2027 Reads

Michael Hooper presents a significant problem for the Wallaby side. Hooper is a fantastic player; his tackling is great, his engine is inexhaustible, and his running game is superb.

Michael Cheika wants him on the field for the Wallabies and it is an opinion that is difficult to disagree with. Hooper is a difference maker with ball in hand – he is just not a strong breakdown presence.

And as a backrower, especially one wearing the No.7 on his jersey, that is problematic.

On June 30 I wrote that Cheika was too smart to start Hooper over Pocock given that the latter is clearly the best openside.

I said that I expected to see Hopper come off the bench for last 20-30 minute to inject running, but starting Pocock allows Higginbotham’s lower work rate to be accomodated and provide a lineout option.

Now, after the Springbok game, I am convinced that Michael Essa (there’s a lot of Michaels in this story) was correct in his article on July 8, and that by naming Hooper as vice-captain, Cheika has nailed his colours to the mast and will pick him in the starting side.

There is no doubt that Hooper is a net positive to the Wallabies. What has to be acknowledged though is that Hooper brings complications to the balance of the side.

Firstly, his offensive ruck involvements are below par, he is far too often stationed in the centres looking for a run. In half of the Wallaby breakdown turnovers conceded against the Springboks Hooper was stationed one in from the wing and made no attempts to secure the ball.

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Secondly, he is not a very good pilferer of the football at the breakdown, barely troubling the stats people when it comes to steals or penalties forced (3 per 15 games in contrast to Pocock with 26 and Liam Gill with 24).

Hooper also doesn’t push well in the scrum, and is always guilty of disengaging his shoulder too early, and is too small to jump in the lineout.

There are numerous comments on The Roar criticising Hooper on these points, citing them as proof that David Pocock should be the Wallaby openside flanker – I’ve posted a fair few of them myself.

Pocock is a different sort of beast; he too possesses a massive engine, is a more prolific tackler than Hooper and an absolute demon at the breakdown, almost impossible to shift off the ball and arguably the best in the world at winning penalties there.

Pocock, though, doesn’t have the running and linking game of Hooper, he’s stronger, but doesn’t have the speed, and he also can’t contribute at lineout time.

With two great talents like this, in possession of complementary skill sets (picture a Hooper driving tackle with Pocock following as the arriving player to steal the ball), it seems obvious that the Wallabies will be a stronger team with ‘The Pooper’ (the correct term for playing Pocock and Hooper in tandem) on the field.

However there is a cost and it comes at set piece time. With the Pooper on the paddock, numbers 4, 5, and 6 and whoever is on the bench in numbers 19 and 20 all need to be lineout jumpers. That means the Wallabies cannot afford to have Will Skelton in the side at all.

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Cheika is not willing to pay the price of no Will Skelton. He has been reported as saying that there was “no risk” to playing Hooper and Pocock on the field at the same time, and that the team had practiced for the situation of having Skelton, Hooper and Pocock all together at lineout time.

That is a concerning statement with a game against Argentina coming up. The starting back five forwards for the Pumas all jump at lineout time and even Victor Matfield would struggle to combat that with only two jumpers.

So what do you Roarers think Cheika should do?

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