- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
“I reckon at the moment he is number five open-side flanker in Australia. He’s gone from being an absolutely outstanding player to what I think is a total non-event.” This was ex-World Cup winning coach Bob Dwyer’s searing appraisal of Michael Hooper’s early season performances.
In this article I’ll address that criticism in the light of the Waratahs’ best showing of the season to date, against the Western Force, while also examining the impact Hooper’s selection may have on Wallaby back-row thinking come June.
The Force have been a bogey team for the Waratahs, winning both their fixtures in 2015, depending heavily on their intensity at the breakdown and in defence to achieve those successes.
Moreover the Force No.7 and captain, Matt Hodgson, is one of those players who are essential to the development of rugby at provincial and club level. Probably trapped at a playing level above regional, but slightly below full national representation, Hodgson will always keep those rated above him totally honest. He is whole-hearted, resilient and uncompromising. If you want national recognition at open-side flanker, first you have to pass the gate guarded by Matt Hodgson.
So it was a day of days for Michael Hooper, and he passed the test with flying colours. According to my own data, his significant involvements exceeded those of the Force’s two Wallaby back-rowers (Hodgson and no.8 Ben McCalman, who had a pretty good match himself) put together.
In his personal duel, Matt Hodgson was seen off with something to spare. He was restricted to one spoil at the breakdown and left the field just after the hour after missing a tackle on Hugh Roach which led to the Tahs’ third try of the evening.
By contrast, Hooper’s engine was spinning on high revs, and he got better as the match wore on, making more significant contributions in the second half (7) than he did in the first (5). By the game’s end, he was standing tall as the outstanding back-row influence on the pitch.
Michael Hooper is one of the modern breed of open-side flankers who could in another lifetime play no.12, much like Ardie Savea in New Zealand. With the introduction of rugby league type defences, there is an increasing degree of overlap between the two positions in the modern game, with 12’s like Brad Barritt and Anthony Fainga’a having many of the qualities associated with a typical open-side flanker.
If anything, Hooper’s versatility is at the extreme end of that overlap, because he now defends as a back in the 10 channel for both the Waratahs and Australia. He is a one-off, and that is why Michael Cheika and Nathan Grey have devised a special system to take advantage of his talents.
Hooper on defence
Hooper’s game against the Force was based squarely on his monumental contribution in defence:
Hooper:
1. Forces two fumbles/turnovers from the Guard position (29:04 and 45:30)
2. Makes two important recovery or scramble tackles on Dane Haylett-Petty and Adam Coleman (28:41 and 55:07)
3. Achieves a dominant frontal tackle on Ben McCalman from first phase lineout (76:08)
4. Shows his ability to make effective one-on-one tackles in ‘backs versus backs’ situations after the second pass has been made (47:49 and 76:55).
In total, Hooper achieved three forced fumbles, two slowdowns or spoils in contact, and two line-break saves.
Hooper’s speed over the ground is truly remarkable. In the ‘save’ after the Haylett-Petty break, he starts from a position two metres behind the Force ball-carrier at 28:36, yet shoots past four Tahs’ defenders to make the recovery tackle at 28:41.
He has more than ample power in the frontal tackle to win collisions against two of the Force’s biggest ball-carriers moving forward with momentum (Steve Mafi at 45:31 and McCalman at 76:08), and he can make the reach tackles on backs like Junior Rasolea (twice), and Adam Coleman after he cuts past Nick Phipps at 55:06. These are invaluable assets for a ‘7 who would be a 12’!
Hooper in attack – and the combination with Jed Holloway
Hooper’s value in attack is mostly seen as an extra centre playing outside first or second receiver. He produced one clean break off a short lineout on first phase against the Force:
Hooper often plays wide in Daryl Gibson’s system, along with No.8 Jed Holloway:
And herein lies a potential problem if Michael Cheika is considering both in the same back-row for the Wallabies.
While Holloway has either scored or contributed heavily to some spectacular Tahs’ scores on the edge this season, including a couple of examples against the Brumbies last week and the Force this.
He hardly ever carries the ball in tight off 9 – I could find only one example in the whole of the Force game! Furthermore, out of four pick-ups off the scrum base, Holloway only ran once (in the 57th minute), the rest of the time he handed the ball on to Nick Phipps.
The Tahs get most of their ball carries off their backs or tight forwards, rather than their loosies. For example in their 79th minute score the pattern was: wide backs→ short tight forwards→ short backs→ wide Folau/Holloway.
Unless Michael Cheika can change Jed Holloway’s style of play for the Wallabies, he will simply be adding another forward who has learned to attack in space, not the hard-nosed, ‘tough yards’ enforcer he may want at 8. On Saturday’s evidence, Ben McCalman is better-suited for that particular role.
Hooper at the defensive breakdown
The crux of Dwyer’s criticism was whether the Wallabies could make a living off breakdown turnovers with Hooper at 7 but without David Pocock at 8:
“If he can’t make a significant contribution at the tackle contest without Pocock there on Saturday, I mean you’d have to say, where is his role in the Wallabies?”
Without Pocock in the side during the 2015 Rugby Championship and at the World Cup, the Wallabies struggled to turn ball over in contact. With Pocock in the team, Australia turned over 8.5% of opposition breakdown ball. Without him, that percentage dropped to 3.2 per cent, and it coincided with Australia’s least convincing performances of the season – South Africa at home, Scotland at the World Cup, New Zealand at Eden Park.
So how did this aspect of the game go for Hooper in Perth?
These four short clips give a reasonably accurate taste of Michael Hooper’s tendencies at the breakdown.
1. There is one turnover and one slow-down or spoil for the defensive side, but two penalties against.
2. Hooper is pushing the refereeing envelope and playing from the ‘wrong side’ on three of the four instances. He targets the space on the far side of the breakdown.
3. Hooper is easily taken off his feet on two occasions when the cleaner gets a solid lick on him.
The pattern that emerges is of a 7 who does not have a stable enough base to survive one-on-one cleanouts on a regular basis. Hooper is knocked down by Harry Scoble at 73:54 and minimal contact by Rasolea earlier on at 24:54 is enough for him to lose his feet.
Hooper’s compensation is to enter the space on the far side of the tackle as early as possible and cause interference for the cleanout. He falls into the Force’s boot space at 24:55 and is penalised. Instead of trying to jackal over the top of the ball at 58:48, he flies straight past it and tackles the first Force cleaner Angus Cottrell from the back-side, winning the turnover. At 75:26 he gets up off the ground as the tackler and stays on his feet in front of the Force halfback. This action impedes the cleanout successfully and it is Clif Palu diving on the ball who incurs the penalty.
Summary
Hooper rebounded strongly from Dwyer’s criticism to play an outstanding role in the Tahs’ rout of the Force. His defensive contribution, in particular, was superb.
From the Wallaby perspective, if Hooper is selected at 7 – and this is likely, given his integration into Nathan Grey’s defensive system – it is hard to see how Cheika can do without Pocock at 8. All the best Wallaby performances in 2015 were associated with his presence in the side, and all the poorer ones were associated with his absence. Without him, the threat at the tackle area becomes far too slight.
If Hooper is deselected and Pocock moves to 7, it creates some room for Jed Holloway to play the wide-ranging role on attack that he fulfils for the Tahs. Then it becomes a choice between Sean McMahon and Scott Fardy at 6, especially as McMahon has improved his lineout work of late for the Rebels.
I believe Cheika will stick with ‘Pooper’ as his front line back row combination, but Holloway and McMahon, given Holloway’s ability to cover second-row, will both likely be involved in the series against England.