Australia captain Michael Hooper to miss rest of Rugby Championship

The openside flanker pulled out of the team and flew home from Argentina on the eve of the tournament opener

Nick Mulvenney
Thursday 01 September 2022 16:14 BST
Comments
The openside flanker pulled out of the team and flew home from Argentina
The openside flanker pulled out of the team and flew home from Argentina (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Australia captain Michael Hooper will miss the rest of the Rugby Championship at least as he continues to deal with the issues that cut short his involvement in the recent tour of Argentina, Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said on Thursday.

The openside flanker pulled out of the team and flew home from Argentina on the eve of the Rugby Championship opener, telling Rennie he was not in the right frame of mind to play his 122nd Test.

Rennie said he had been in frequent contact with Hooper but did not want to share too much from their conversations out of respect for the 30-year-old’s privacy.

“We’re not looking to include him in the rest of the Rugby Championship and then we’ll make decisions beyond that,” Rennie told reporters after naming his team for Saturday’s test against the Springboks.

“We’re certainly not looking to rush him back in, but he’s on the improve.”

Replacement hooker Dave Porecki was also reluctant to breach confidences but believed his New South Wales Waratahs teammate had not played his last Test match.

“I caught up with him when I got back, it is obviously a bit weird not hearing his voice in here right now,” he said.

“But he will eventually be back in and the boys are supportive. With respect, that’s probably all I’m going to say on that.”

Rennie once again selected Fraser McReight in the number seven shirt for Saturday’s match after the young Queenslander scored two tries in the 25-17 victory over the Springboks in Adelaide last week.

The 23-year-old said after the game that Hooper had texted him to congratulate him on his performance.

“I’m just doing a job for the team at the moment,” he told reporters. “If he comes back and starts at seven, he’s a legend in the game and that’s what’s going to happen.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in