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World Cup-winning Wallaby Simon Poidevin believes Tom Hooper’s selection at openside flanker is a “high-risk” strategy but believes Eddie Jones won’t be wedded to the move away from tradition going forward.
Hooper, 22, was one of the many bombshell selections made by Jones for Saturday’s Bledisloe opener at the MCG.
After Fraser McReight wore the prized No.7 jersey against Argentina in the absence of Michael Hooper, Jones pulled another rabbit from the hat on Thursday by naming rising Brumbies forward Tom Hooper in the position despite featuring in the role just once for his Super Rugby side.
But once is all Jones needed to think that Hooper, the 199cm, 118kg utility forward, can do a job for the Wallabies after impressing against the Chiefs in the Brumbies’ Super Rugby semi-final loss.
“We just feel it’s a battle of the breakdown, we didn’t get enough pressure on the Argentinean breakdown last week and we feel Tom can do that job for us,” Jones told reporters on Thursday.
“I think the best game I saw from an Australian 7 [in 2023] was Tom against the Chiefs.
“The Chiefs were obviously a very good team in Super Rugby and the way he competed hard at the breakdown against those guys was first class.”
Tom Hooper. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
They’re comments that will make Michael Hooper and McReight sweat because neither one of the openside flankers managed to make a big impact on the opening two Tests of the year, where the Wallabies came out on the wrong side of the scoreboard on both occasions.
McReight, who was one of Australia’s best throughout Super Rugby, didn’t even make the bench with the bigger body of Rob Leota instead preferred.
Jones’ selection was a move towards the Springboks’ game plan, with the world champions currently rolling out giant Bulls back-rower Marco van Staden at openside flanker.
The question is, will it represent a thinking going forward in Australian rugby?
“I think you might, particularly at the international level,” former World Cup-winning blindside flanker Matt Cockbain told The Roar.
“Obviously, it’s such a physical game that speed and mass creates force. So, if you’ve got a 112 or 115kg guy versus a 100-ish kilo guy, then you’re probably going to win that battle if you can go in at about the same velocity, which tends to happen.”
Matt Cockbain (R) isn’t surprised Eddie Jones has turned to a bigger back-row to help stop the All Blacks. (Photo by Ross Land/Getty Images)
Cockbain, who has spent the week with the Wallabies during some personal development and is currently coaching in Japan, wasn’t surprised by Jones’ decision to turn to Hooper for more reasons than meets the eye.
Two decades ago the abrasive forward wore the No.7 jersey for Australia A.
“I know from my time with Eddie, I actually had one or two games at openside,” he said.
“When Mat Rogers and Wendell [Sailor] played their first game for Australia A against Canada (May, 2002), if you look at that team list, I’m at number seven there. So when there was a bit of pressure on that first breakdown from scrum or lineout, the idea around that was to put a big body over the ball to really try and negate that contested possession on first ruck.”
Jones has done just that, having seen the speed and precision and power that the All Blacks have played with over the past month, with Aaron Smith pulling the strings off the back of breathtakingly quick ball.
While the move to select Hooper – no relation to Michael – at openside flanker is move away from recent decades where the Wallabies had an embarrassment of riches in the role with David Wilson, George Smith, Phil Waugh and David Pocock at openside flanker, a look back in time reveals the Wallabies have had big back-rows featuring Poidevin, Troy Coker and Willie Ofahengaue.
Poidevin, who played alongside Jones for Randwick and was with him as recently as last Sunday for a Randwick function, doesn’t hide behind the fact Jones is running the gauntlet by selecting Hooper at openside flanker.
“You never try and second guess Eddie,” Poidevin told The Roar.
“On the surface, it’s a high-risk play playing Tom Hooper there. He’s not a natural seven and Dalton’s [Papalii] been absolutely one of the dominating backrowers of Southern Hemisphere rugby this year and he’s very, very quick to the breakdown.
“There’s no doubt that Tom’s got good speed for a big man. I think tactically Eddie’s just thought about last week against the Springboks, the All Blacks seemed to be punching through the breakdown pretty effectively and that got the big South African pack on the back foot.
“I think he probably wants to return fire with fire with big players going into that breakdown situation and obviously Hooper is that man.”
Tom Hooper in action during a Wallabies training session at Brighton Grammar School on July 25, 2023 in Melbourne. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Hooper is a no frills kind of player, who just wants to rip in and won’t take a backward step.
“But what you do know is it’ll be zero backward steps,” said his Brumbies defence coach Laurie Fisher, when interviewed ahead of Hooper’s debut in Pretoria earlier this month.
“He’ll be on the front foot for the whole game and he won’t be thinking twice about putting his head over a ball or carrying hard, he’ll just do it.”
That’s just the kind of player Jones wants because the Wallabies turned the ball over three times against Argentina because of a lack of urgency and awareness at the breakdown.
While Hooper’s debut in Pretoria didn’t go to plan it wasn’t because of his lack of desire. In fact, a proper examination reveals the debutant was let down badly by his teammates in defence when the Wallabies’ spacing and marking was brutally exposed.
Poidevin, who won the World Cup in 1991, said Hooper needed support against the All Blacks and called on the entire team, including the backs, to roll up their sleeves to ensure Jones’ game plan comes to fruition.
“I think the important thing is that he’s made that decision, he’s going with a big pack, he’s gone with a big back-row that every player from 1-15 has to play like a back-rower at any position on the field,” Poidevin said.
“That’s backs fighting for the ball at any sort of breakdown and not worrying about getting back into the backline because New Zealand are just masters of every player having the skills to make a pest of themselves at the breakdown.
“They fight harder than anybody in our forward pack. I just don’t get it. Guys have to be committed wherever they are on the field. And Eddie’s trying to bring a philosophy of play what’s in front of you and play it aggressively and don’t be robotic about how you’re thinking about the game and that’s the important thing.”
Eddie Jones has moved away from recent tradition to name a bigger back-rower. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
Poidevin, however, said that going forward he would be surprised if Jones didn’t return to a harder on-ball option.
“You look at the success of Australia and in its big victories over the last decades it’s been dominant sevens whether it’s been George Smith, Phil Waugh or Michael Hooper, it’s an incredibly important part of the way we play the game,” Poidevin said.
“I think this is a tactical play by Eddie this time around. I don’t think it’s an ongoing strategy to have a big seven like South Africa do with Peter-Steph du Toit.
“It’s a bit hard on Fraser McReight. I think Fraser’s been one of the form players of Australian rugby this year, but this is a very tactical move by Eddie.”
Cockbain said Saturday’s Bledisloe was an opportunity for Hooper to “stamp himself as a player” and had “all the attributes that Eddie wants” but agreed that the harder on-ball flanker option wasn’t a thing of the past.
“You look at a guy like Kwagga Smith. He’s not a big guy for South Africa and he’s routinely one of their best players. He probably didn’t have the best game against the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship, but no one did,” he said.
“I think there’s still scope for it. Definitely. It’s basically on the quality of the individual there.
“I think Fraser’s a great prospect. I really like him, actually. I think he’s a really good player if he wants it. It’s there for him moving forward. He’s just got to put it out in the paddock and prove that he’s the man to demand selection in that 15.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.