WALLABIES LEGEND MICHAEL Hooper will switch codes to line out with Australia’s Sevens team next year as they bid to win the country’s first Olympic men’s rugby medal in Paris.
Rugby Australia announced Hooper’s move on Wednesday, with coach John Manenti delighted to welcome “an outstanding rugby player and a great leader” to the programme.
Hooper’s decision comes in the wake of reports in France that superstar scrum-half Antoine Dupont is also on the brink of a Sevens switch to play in his home Olympics.
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Hooper, 32, won 125 Test caps for Australia and is the most-capped Wallabies captain, having led out his country no fewer than 69 times.
But the legendary flanker was controversially left out of Eddie Jones’s squad for the World Cup, where Australia crashed out in the pool stages.
The new SVNS series begins in Dubai on 2/3 December but Hooper will not join Australia’s programme until the new year, paving the way for a potential debut on home soil in Perth on 26-28 January.
“The transition is something I have thought a lot about and I’m extremely motivated by the challenge of playing Sevens and trying to earn my way into this team,” Hooper said.
“I’ve started making a few changes to my training in preparation and can’t wait to get started in January.”
Australia coach Manenti said: “Michael is an outstanding rugby player and a great leader, so we’re thrilled to have him join our program.
“We know he’s got a strong skillset for Sevens and a big engine and we’re looking forward to helping him transition quickly to the format.
“He is a player with big-game experience and to have someone like Michael in our set-up can be a point of difference for us next year.”
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Wallabies legend Michael Hooper makes Rugby Sevens switch ahead of Olympics
WALLABIES LEGEND MICHAEL Hooper will switch codes to line out with Australia’s Sevens team next year as they bid to win the country’s first Olympic men’s rugby medal in Paris.
Rugby Australia announced Hooper’s move on Wednesday, with coach John Manenti delighted to welcome “an outstanding rugby player and a great leader” to the programme.
Hooper’s decision comes in the wake of reports in France that superstar scrum-half Antoine Dupont is also on the brink of a Sevens switch to play in his home Olympics.
Hooper, 32, won 125 Test caps for Australia and is the most-capped Wallabies captain, having led out his country no fewer than 69 times.
But the legendary flanker was controversially left out of Eddie Jones’s squad for the World Cup, where Australia crashed out in the pool stages.
The new SVNS series begins in Dubai on 2/3 December but Hooper will not join Australia’s programme until the new year, paving the way for a potential debut on home soil in Perth on 26-28 January.
“The transition is something I have thought a lot about and I’m extremely motivated by the challenge of playing Sevens and trying to earn my way into this team,” Hooper said.
“I’ve started making a few changes to my training in preparation and can’t wait to get started in January.”
Australia coach Manenti said: “Michael is an outstanding rugby player and a great leader, so we’re thrilled to have him join our program.
“We know he’s got a strong skillset for Sevens and a big engine and we’re looking forward to helping him transition quickly to the format.
“He is a player with big-game experience and to have someone like Michael in our set-up can be a point of difference for us next year.”
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