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There’s no argument Michael Hooper is a talented footballer, but if it hadn’t been for long-term injuries to David Pocock he would never have become a frontline Wallaby.
He also wouldn’t be a Wallaby captain had Dave Dennis and Stephen Moore not suffered long-term injuries.
That’s the luck of the draw, and a freak sequence of events. To Hooper’s credit, he’s made the most of the misfortune of others.
When Hooper burst onto the Super Rugby scene in 2010 with the Brumbies, Pocock was an acknowledged world class-number seven. He won the John Eales Medal in 2010 and was nominated as a World Rugby Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011.
Hooper was destined to be a bench Wallaby at best as long as Pocock wasn’t injured.
But that wasn’t to be the case, with a serious knee reconstruction in early 2013 ending Pocock’s, followed by a second reconstruction on the other knee to end his 2014 early.
Hooper was an automatic Wallaby replacement as Pocock spent month after month in rehab for two years with a successful return questionable.
David Pocock and Mike Hooper. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
In 2013, Hooper switched to the Waratahs, and the following year captain Dave Dennis suffered a long-term injury. Coach Michael Cheika promoted Hooper to captain all the way through to the Waratahs capturing the Super Rugby title to end a 19-year drought.
Hooper was now the undisputed Wallaby seven, and captain of the Waratahs, so it came as no surprise when hooker Stephen Moore took over the Wallaby captaincy, coach Ewen McKenzie named Hooper, and veteran Adam Ashley-Cooper, as vice-captains.
In the first minute of Moore’s captaincy debut against France, he was struck down with an ankle injury and hobbled off the field for the rest of the year.
Hooper was now Wallaby captain for the season, but Moore resumed the leadership when he returned the following year.
Moore retired last year with 15 wins from 26 starts as captain, and a 57.69 per cent win rate, as Hooper resumed the Wallaby captaincy under Michael Cheika.
But all the time Pocock was lurking, and because Hooper was captain and not able to play anywhere but seven, Cheika came up with the Pooper experiment, playing Pocock at eight.
In the last year, it’s been abundantly clear Pocock has been the better seven by a considerable distance.
The Australian Super Rugby reps voting for the John Eales Medal had their say handing Pocock a massive 262 votes to runner-up Lukhan Tui’s 139.
Pocock’s 262 votes came from just eight of 13 voting internationals, while Hooper’s 80 came from 12.
And the players also voted Pocock the best number seven in the country.
It’s worth acknowledging Pocock has been nominated three times for the World Rugby Player of the Year award, Hooper once, but Hooper has won 87 Wallaby caps, Pocock 74.
Lastly, there are three Wallabies on duty this afternoon against the men-in-black with captaincy stats.
David Pocock has led the Wallabies seven times for four wins – 57.14 per cent.
Will Genia two wins from four – 50 per cent.
And Michael Hooper 14 wins from 34 – 41.17 per cent.
No-one has to be a rocket scientist to work out who should be the Wallaby seven, and captain.