Michael Hooper has made light of his first try for Australia’s national sevens team on a landmark day in his bid to play at the Olympics.
The Wallabies great, who’s switched to rugby’s short format in a bid to go for gold in Paris, dived over for his maiden score at the Singapore Sevens on Friday as both the Australian Olympic-bound men and women’s teams flourished.
The men defeated World Series-leading Argentina 26-19 in their opening fixture, with Hooper making just a brief cameo appearance at the end, but the 32-year-old was in the starting lineup which then beat Canada 21-14 to effectively seal a quarter-final spot.
The 125-times capped former Wallabies captain was set up for the easiest of first-half scores with a neat offload from the outstanding Dietrich Roache from a scrum play, as he popped up in a familiar support role to plough over for a first sevens try to go with his 22 in the international fifteens game.
“I fell over the line well, didn’t I?” joked Hooper.
“That’s all I had to do – two metres out and I just had to fall over the line, so if Dietrich can give me a couple more of those offloads, I’ll be happy.”
Australia’s Michael Hooper scores a try against Canada on day one of the HSBC SVNS at National Stadium on 3 May, 2024 in Singapore. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby
That was far from all he did, with Hooper also winning a key turnover in the second half as John Manenti’s side went on to prevail with other scores from Nick Malouf and Hayden Sargeant.
The win against a strangely sluggish Argentina outfit had been even more impressive, with James Turner going over for a double and Ben Dowling and Nathan Lawson also scoring before a late rally from the Pumas.
“Today we just wanted to get through out two matches really clean, be clinical and smart on pour defence which sets up our game,” said Hooper.
“With Argentina, we had to have really strong defence against great ball carriers, and the same against Canada, we fought back well into this one.”
Australia captain Madison Ashby races away from the Great Britain defence for a try in Singapore. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby
The Australian women, who are level at the top of the world series table alongside their serial New Zealand rivals, started their campaign by beating Brazil 27-10, featuring a hat-trick from Faith Nathan, and followed up with a superb eight-try 44-0 win over Great Britain.
Nathan grabbed two more tries while Maddison Levi made her total three for the day as she now moves to third all-time for most World Series tries for Australia.
Australia came into a tournament without their slawarts, captain Charlotte Caslick and Sharni Smale, for the first time in six years, with both being rested.
Yet they demonstrated there’s plenty of young talent coming through as 21-year-old Sidney Taylor scored her first try for Australia against the British.
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.
The Australian women's Sevens team have fallen just short of being crowned regular-season champions, losing 31-21 to New Zealand in the Singapore Sevens final.…
So much rugby, so little time. Not just the Super Rugby Pacific but the U20s Rugby Championship starts on Thursday. Amid that rugby overdose,…
Barely used throughout Super Rugby, Junior Wallabies skipper Teddy Wilson has the chance to push for Olympics selection after being named in John Manenti’s…
Series leaders Australia have suffered a blow in their women's and men's world sevens title battles with New Zealand, losing their semi-finals at the…
Michael Hooper's debut sevens tournament continues to prove a success with the Olympics-hunting Wallabies great enjoying cameo roles as both Australian sides marched to…
