Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper has withdrawn from Australia’s tour of Argentina for personal reasons.
Key points:
Michael Hooper is Australia’s most capped skipper
The 30-year-old led the Wallabies for the first time in 2014
Coach Dave Rennie said Hooper’s decision to step aside showed “true courage”
Rugby Australia released a statement saying Hooper, 30, would return to Australia.
The Wallabies kick off their Rugby Championship campaign against Los Pumas in Mendoza on Sunday morning (AEST).
The statement said the 121-Test veteran is “not in the mindset to fulfill the responsibility that goes with leading and representing his country at this point in time.”
“While this decision did not come easily I know it is the right one for me and the team at this point in time,” Hooper said.
“My whole career I’ve looked to put the team first and I don’t feel I am able to fulfill my responsibilities at the moment in my current mindset.”
Experienced prop James Slipper will captain the side in Hooper’s stead in Mendoza, with Reds flanker Fraser McReight stepping in at open side.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said his skipper had shown “true courage” to make the “difficult decision” to step aside.
“Michael’s one of the most professional and impressive men I’ve coached,” Rennie said.
“He’s shown true courage by acknowledging where he is at and acting on it.
“We will support him in any way we can and I know the team will be focused on getting the job done.”
Rugby Australia boss Andy Marinos described Hooper as an “incredible leader” while pleading the organisation’s ongoing support.
“It takes a brave man to identify where he’s at and come forward whilst having the best interests of the team at heart,” Marinos said.
“His wellbeing is and remains the highest priority right now.”
Hooper has been a stalwart of the Wallabies since 2012 and has been a full-time captain since 2015.
He is the Wallabies’ most capped skipper of all time.
The Wallabies enter this year’s Rugby Championship off the back of a 2-1 series defeat against England.
In last year’s competition the Wallabies finished second behind the All Blacks.
Tolu Latu is once again a Waratah, and the hooker could yet emerge as a player of national interest should he keep on the straight and narrow over the next 16 months.
After weeks of negotiations with the Waratahs, the 21-Test hooker signed a one-year deal with the Super Rugby franchise last week.
By doing so, Darren Coleman has opted for the immense capability of Latu over rising hooker Tom Horton to compete with Wallabies incumbent hooker Dave Porecki and Mahe Vailanu.
It can be revealed Horton, 25, will instead join up with England Premiership champions Leicester, who are coached by Eddie Jones’ former right-hand man Steve Borthwick.
Tom Horton is heading to Leicester and won’t return to the Waratahs for 2023 after Tolu Latu signed with Darren Coleman’s men. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
With Argentine international Julian Montoya unavailable, Tom Youngs retired and Sydney-born England squad member Nic Dolly injured, Borthwick needs a hooker and Horton will compete for the role once his visa is approved and he touches down in the region.
The short-term deal is the perfect opportunity for Horton to grow after a frustrating few years where injuries have slowed his development.
But the Sydney Uni hooker need only look at his former teammate Porecki for inspiration, with the 29-year-old plying his trade in England for years before an opening popped up back at the Waratahs last year. Porecki’s Wallabies debut was delayed by a year because of an injury, but the experienced rake was one of Dave Rennie’s best players against England in July.
Latu’s return is hardly surprising.
He has been linked to a return with the Waratahs ever since he was let go by Stade Francais earlier in the year.
The Waratahs will have two Test hookers at the franchise with Tolu Latu joining Dave Porecki. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
His departure from the Paris-based Top 14 outfit came after more ill-discipline off the pitch and reckless moments on it, which ultimately saw the 21-Test hooker farewelled.
But his incredible potential, where he is one of the best in Australian rugby over the ball and at the scrum, has seen Australian rugby give the cat with nine lives another chance.
It shapes as his last, with Latu to be shown the door if he puts one foot wrong given his history.
Wallaby Tolu Latu has been handed a lifeline by the Waratahs. Photo: AAPSource: AAP
Latu has joined on a contract worth barely six figures, but if he manages to keep on the right side of the boot greater riches lay ahead.
He is unlikely to come into the reckoning for the Wallabies this year unless a number of injuries, but given his outstanding World Cup campaign in 2019 he is a bolter for next year’s tournament in France.
He will compete with Porecki, Folau Fainga’a and Lachlan Lonergan – all three of whom are in Argentina ahead of the Wallabies’ opening Rugby Championship fixture against Michael Cheika’s Los Pumas in Mendoza on Sunday (AEST).
Argentina’s Australian coach Michael Cheika looks on before the series-deciding international against Scotland at the Madre de Ciudades Stadium in Santiago del Estero. Photo: AFPSource: AFP
Sunday’s Test shapes as a season defining one, especially with the All Blacks fighting fires on a number of fronts.
Not only do the All Blacks have the immense challenge of taking on the Springboks twice in South Africa, they are likely playing for coach Ian Foster’s future.
Foster, unlike two of his assistants, might have been spared the ax following their first series loss on home soil since 1994, but New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson hardly filled him with confidence when he stopped short of saying he would lead the All Blacks through to next year’s World Cup.
“He’s certainly the person to lead the team to South Africa, and we’re making sure they’ve got everything possible in the way of resourcing and support to make sure that’s successful,” Robinson told Newstalk ZB from Birmingham.
Robinson’s comments came after former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said relations between the New Zealand Rugby board and the players were at their lowest ebb.
“The relationship between the board and the [executive] with the players at the moment is probably the worst it’s ever been,” he said on local radio.
“I don’t think they’re doing their job right at the moment.”
While former NZR boss David Moffett called for Robinson to stand down.
The rumblings in the front office, and the lingering feeling the All Blacks have the wrong man coaching with Scott Robertson waiting in the wings, have left the feeling the All Blacks are at their most vulnerable in two decades ahead of the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup .
