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The worst-kept secret in Australian rugby has been confirmed, with Michael Hooper being officially unveiled as the new captain of the Wallabies.
The 25-year-old Hooper had been widely tipped to take the mantle after previous skipper Stephen Moore stepped down from the captaincy last week as the experienced hooker moves towards his international retirement at the end of the year.
“It’s a huge honour to just wear the Wallabies jersey, let alone captain the side,” Hooper said.
“I’m extremely grateful to Cheik (Michael Cheika) but also to Steve (Moore) for all that he’s done for me and the team.
“It’s what you do in the jersey that’s most important and I get another crack at showing what it means to me against New Zealand in Sydney in a fortnight.”
The flanker is no stranger to the captaincy, having led the Waratahs out during their ill-fated 2017 Super Rugby season and skippering the Wallabies during the first two June Tests of the year with Moore starting on the sidelines.
Hooper also captained the Wallabies on 13 occasions in 2014 when Moore was out injured, making him the youngest Australian skipper since Ken Catchpole in 1961. Despite his experience in leading the side out, Hooper said he would be leaning on the other leaders in the team to help drive the Wallabies forward.
“There are quite a few good young leaders in this team like Bernard (Foley), Adam (Coleman), Samu (Kerevi) and Allan (Alaalatoa), so we’ll be working together to take this team to a new level,” Hooper said.
“I’m really excited about what we can achieve in the next four months. It is a very special opportunity for all of us, and we’ll be doing all we can to show that pride in the jersey.”
There have been some question-marks over Hooper’s suitability for the job, with critics claiming the Waratahs’ poor season and the upcoming return of David Pocock – considered by some to be a better option in the number seven jersey than Hooper – to Australian rugby in 2018 should have seen someone else handed the role.
However, coach Michael Cheika is adamant the decision to appoint Hooper as the side’s captain is the right one.
“Michael always shows on the field how much he loves the gold jersey and that’s why he is totally respected among the rugby players in Australia,” Cheika said.
“His role as the leader of this team will also be about making the standards of the Australian rugby team the highest they can possibly be.
“Michael loves Australia and his record as a player speaks for itself but he’s exactly the type of man we want to see in rugby – connected to his school, a great club man at the grassroots, a passionate Super Rugby player and a proud Wallaby.”
Hooper already has 68 Wallabies caps to his name despite his debut coming as recently as 2012, and has since become one of four players to win multiple John Eales Medals. He has also been awarded with the Matthew Burke Medal in each of the past four seasons.
The new skipper’s first challenge as full-time captain will come on August 19, when the Wallabies will meet the All Blacks in Sydney to get their Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup campaigns underway.