Wallabies linchpin Michael Hooper has backed James Slipper to retain the Australian captaincy, prioritising his own form in a World Cup year ahead of reclaiming the leadership role.
Hooper’s return from a three-month mental health break during the recent spring tour was cut short by a concussion suffered in the penultimate Test against Ireland, with the 31-year-old returning home early from Europe last month.
Slipper has led commendably in Hooper’s absence throughout 2022, with the latter comfortable if his record as Australia’s most capped skipper stays at 68 Tests leading into the World Cup in France and beyond.
“The answer is the simplest answer — whatever’s best for the team,” Hooper said.
“Jimmy’s doing a really outstanding job at the moment and I’m really happy with how that’s gone. Whatever else happens, first off my biggest goal is to play my best footy for the team.
“It’s a long season and that World Cup is 10 months away. A lot can happen, so we’ll work that one later. Playing well is my biggest focus for now and that’s of the utmost importance.”
Michael Hooper (left) has no issue if James Slipper (centre) retains the national captaincy full-time.Credit:Getty
Hooper reported no ill effects from the head knock that ended his tour early and has been training on his own for the past two weeks before returning to the Waratahs’ pre-season preparations.
A stint aboard maxi yacht Willow during Tuesday’s Big Boat Challenge on Sydney Harbour saw sea sickness kept at bay by the 124-Test veteran as he was put to work manually operating the boats winches, one of the more physically demanding jobs onboard.
With a busy schedule leading into a potential two-month World Cup tour from September, Hooper also has no issue with being rested for as many as three Super Rugby games throughout the coming season, per prospective plans between states and Wallabies coaching staff.
“You want to be playing your best game in a World Cup final,” he said.
“Whatever it looks like to get there, I’m on board with it. There’s plans in place with how that’ll look but you don’t really know until you’re into the season and you’re dealing with injuries and different rotations.
“There’s a working plan but you’ve got to be agile and thinking, so if the load does become too much all the coaches across Australia are working on the same page and if we need to manage things, it’ll be everyone in on that solution.”
Despite conjecture around Dave Rennie’s future beyond the World Cup, which Hooper declined to comment on, he believes “we can take a lot out of” the Wallabies’ topsy-turvy spring tour that saw each game (two wins, three losses) decided by five points or less.
“I think there were more questions answered on tour than left unanswered heading into a World Cup year.
“We’ve got a game to match it with the best sides in the world at the moment. And we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of taking things into our control — I’m talking about penalties and discipline in games.
“There’s 10 months of footy to come but I think we’re in good shape in terms of the footy we’re playing and the depth we have.”
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