Hooper makes Australia sevens debut against Fiji

In his nation’s 12-0 victory over Fiji, former Australia captain Michael Hooper described his debut in the international sevens as “pretty daunting”.

With less than three of the game’s fourteen minutes remaining, the 32-year-old replaced Nathan Lawson in the Hong Kong Sevens on Friday.

Hooper hopes to make the Australian sevens team for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Hooper remarked, “I came on and did what I had to do.”

“I simply had to enter and complete it for us.

“I’m trying to lean into the abundance of games that I’ve played.

“The truth is that I’m new to this, so it’s difficult for me to figure out how I may influence the game when we play Fiji in the first round. I’ll just proceed step by step from this point on.”

Despite having played 125 times for the Australia XVs, Hooper was not included in the squad for the 2023 World Cup and instead tried to earn a berth in the sevens for Paris.

“He did well,” John Manenti, the head coach of Australia, stated.

“That was pretty big because he came on and did what he does pretty well, which is pilfer.

He has put in a lot of effort to get here. We made it clear from the beginning that he would have to work hard for everything.

“You could see the boys that were on before him playing pretty good footy so he’s going to have to keep fighting and keep proving himself.”

FOR MORE NEWS CLICK HERE