Hooper is the joker in the Wallabies’ pack at the World Cup

Saint-Etienne: Every so often, a breath of fresh air walks into a sporting team.

At the Rugby World Cup in France, that person is Wallabies back-rower Tom Hooper.

On a regular Wednesday media opportunity before the Wallabies’ clash with Fiji on Sunday (Monday 1.45am AEST), Hooper lit up the press conference room with a string of one-liners.

There is no higher pressure environment than a World Cup but Hooper grinned alongside assistant coach Jason Ryles and winger Suliasi Vunivalu, who could only chuckle at the Bathurst product’s antics in front of media.

“They can go the 80,” said Hooper when asked about a Fijian side coming off a heartbreaking 32-26 loss to Wales on Sunday. “You know, they were always a team that you sort of had to keep two scores on, just in case they pulled something out of their clacker and went the full field.

“They’re a team now who, you saw on the weekend, it wasn’t just miracle balls, it wasn’t Hail Marys. It was really grafting, making those nice line breaks, consolidating that ball and then going again. I think the walls [at our] hotel are paper thin because I could hear the boys scream when Semi [Radradra] dropped that ball.”

Hooper did an interview with this masthead last month where he discussed the sacrifices his family, who raised him on a farm in central-west NSW, had made to help him become a professional rugby player.

After being a part of multiple losses this year, following a debut against South Africa in early July, Hooper said there was a real buzz in the sheds at Stade de France after Australia’s 35-15 win over Georgia.

“It was great. Winner’s piss is better than loser’s piss,” Hooper said. “Got a couple of beers, got around the boys. Obviously, we weren’t getting too ahead of ourselves, but it’s important to celebrate those and connect as a team.

“I had a beer or two with Suli on the night. Then we tucked each other into the bed and we’re onto the next job. We’re in the honeymoon stage. So everyone’s happy as Larry.”

Hooper said he was so focused on the task at hand in his maiden Test outing that he didn’t realise what was going on around him.

“Obviously, I knew there was 75,000 people watching on the weekend but if you asked me if out there I wouldn’t have been able to tell you,” Hooper said, “There were a couple of [fans] in budgy smugglers and I didn’t even see them. I would have had a chuckle in the game if I saw that.”

The 22-year-old Brumbies back-rower insists there hasn’t been a change in coach Eddie Jones’ demeanour despite a favourable result at the weekend.

“He’s still the same old Eddie, he’ll never change,” Hooper said. “He had me down there doing a couple of tackles. He said, ‘Hoops, [have] you made a good tackle yet today?’

“So he got into me and then I was running into big Langi [Gleeson] ... and Eddie said, ‘Mate, you gotta pretend like you’re running to the Oberon bottle shop’, which is my local bottle shop. So yeah, he still is up my backside making sure I’m doing the hard yards. It’s good, I love it, that’s how we’re gonna get better.”

The confidence and charisma reminded many of former Wallabies winger Nick Cummins, known as the ‘Honey Badger’, whose plethora of one-liners and colloquialisms propelled his profile during a 15-Test stint with the Wallabies from 2012 to 2014. Hooper was asked if he was a fan of Cummins.

“He’s got a lot better quotes than I do,” Hooper said. “I’ve got a couple of his tucked up my sleeve but I can’t claim them as my own.

“I’m not as country as [Cummins]. He’s a lot more country,” Hooper said. “Big Ned Hanigan is even more country than me. Some of the boys said they can’t even understand him. I’m not that country ... just Bathurst, it’s not that far out.”

For now, it’s back to the pool table at the team hotel for a bit of recovery after another tough session in Saint-Etienne.

“I’ve lost a bit of money on pool, which, yeah, my missus won’t be too happy about,” Hooper said. “But that’s all right, I’ll win it back. That’s what every gambler says.”

Watch all the action from Rugby World Cup 2023 on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport. Every match streaming ad-free, live and in 4K UHD with replays, mini matches and highlights available on demand.

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