Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper will take up a six-month sabbatical deal to play rugby in Japan, leaving the NSW Waratahs without their biggest star for most of the next Super Rugby competition.
Rugby Australia and the Waratahs confirmed on Wednesday night that Hooper – who has played 99 Tests – would be released for the first six months of 2021.
His deal is a feature of the COVID-19 interim player pay agreement between Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) and RA in April, applying to a specified number of veteran Test players.
Melbourne’s Matt Toomua and Dane Haylett-Petty are understood to have been offered the same deal.
Hooper will miss most of the 2021 Super Rugby campaign with an opportunity to return to complete the season for the Waratahs before the Wallabies’ Test calendar.
“This is a great opportunity for me to learn in a new rugby environment and develop a different perspective on the game,” Hooper said in a statement.
“I’m really excited in the direction of rugby in Australia both at a Super Rugby level and at the Wallabies too under Dave (Rennie).
“The Super Rugby AU competition this year has unearthed some really good young talent and they are all keeping me on my toes.”
RA interim boss Rob Clarke said they were supportive of Hooper’s plans.
“It’s a prudent decision, especially for someone who has been a devoted servant to the domestic game here in Australia for over 10 years now,” Clarke said.
“While he will head overseas for the first six months of next year, Michael has made it abundantly clear how committed he is to Australian Rugby until at least the Rugby World Cup in 2023.”
Hooper is set to join Japanese Top League team Toyota Verblitz, where he will link up with former Waratahs assistant coach Simon Cron and former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.
Davos
Guest
Try-Hard .Totally agree. 2014 was the end of the Wallabies. Cheiks AAC Beale gone now. One to go from that toxic culture. " The skateboard kid "
Gary
Guest
hahaha the old Foley Iceman steered the Wallabies to a loss in the 2015 final line . The 2014 kick is super rugby , im talking hard test match games, i`m talking test rugby, real rugby, you know rugby like the one you choked in against the Poms in 2019. P.S He is still dining out on those 2 games. He hung around 3 years too long, 2016-2019 he was pathetic.
Aiden
Guest
Who cares, it’s not public money. They can agree to what they want. I’m not sure what’s so hard to understand about that.
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
Jez, or both his dads!
Diesel 2.0
Roar Rookie
Haha yeah fair enough. Temporarily despised them of course. e.g. In the lead up to a Bledisloe game or a Super GF. I'm pretty sure Cheiks would've made sure of that. Post game though and after a couple of beers the warm and fuzzy feeling for these fine coaches would most probs return.
Diesel 2.0
Roar Rookie
You underestimate how tough and adaptable Hooper is. He's the perfect size for Hooker. Any taller would mean you'd need bigger and taller Props. Think Ekland for the Blues, Horton for the Tahs who are very similar in build and attributes to Hooper.
Diesel 2.0
Roar Rookie
I'm not one who think he plays loose at all. In fact he players according to the systems he's been put in eg. 1331 where he is a 1 in and runs the 15 metre channel. The other 1 on the opposite side of the field is the hooker. They are similar players with the same roles and objectives on both D&A except for the hooking and lineout duties which is easily learnt. In terms of transferable skill the transition would be seamless. Hooper is a beast so he will easily adapt. However, its way too late now to even consider the move. It would definitely solve the issue the Wallabies will have come test time of where to fit some of these excellent young loosies coming through.
Malo
Guest
Who is going to watch a bunch of no names, Hooper was the last decent Tah left. Super rugby has officially died. I’m a Hooper fan but he is doing a detrimental thing going, but who can blame him.
Jocko
Guest
Rats leaving the sinking ship. Who will watch the tahs with no stars. Super is dead.
Double Agent
Guest
"Over rated skateboarder." Who'd you play for Try Hard?
Birthday Suit
Roar Rookie
I love that whoever this person is, they haven't even bothered to hide it. "I know what I'm going to do! I'm going to create multiple accounts, all with extremely generic one word names, and bag Hooper on every single thread that even slightly touches on Australian Rugby with exactly the same comments, terminology and writing style. This will be fun!" There are a fair few real posters here who hate Hooper - for reasons I can't agree with overall - but at least they are genuine about it. This is just sad. It just takes away from genuine discussion about very real concerns about Hooper's game and place in the Wallabies which is just not constructive.
ScottD
Roar Guru
Scott, I think that Dave Rennie has made it clear that he will pick on merit and form. But having said that I don't doubt the Hooper will be in the top tier and will be picked.
ScottD
Roar Guru
Paul, are you sure about that?
tsuru
Roar Rookie
Scott, your right to respect for your comment is greatly diminished when you demonstrate that you either didn’t read or didn’t understand the statement that said that Hooper will be back mid 2021.
ScottD
Roar Guru
Tizzano is an excellent player. Any team would be lucky to have him.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Kepu is really struggling to make any impact at London Irish. I think his time as a very good SR player may have passed
ScottD
Roar Guru
I doubt he despised them mate :)
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
And the way Elsom played, he should have had his game minutes managed down anyway. It was a sadly inevitable conclusion that he ran afoul of injuries. What a loss. A Wallaby 6 described by Brian O'Driscoll as the best rugby player he ever played with. We don't have enough good 6's to lose them early to injury (or to poor selection for that matter, Cheiks).
ScottD
Roar Guru
Yep, there's no denying that Hooper plays for 80 minutes full steam every game. Love him or hate him he gives 100% and is a passionate rugby man. He deserves a bit of credit. If every player put in the effort that he does Australia would hold the world cup.
ScottD
Roar Guru
Am I remembering incorrectly that the first game of SR Au only had 50,000 viewers? If I'm right that is an ok improvement over 6? rounds