Wallabies legend Michael Hooper marked his debut in rugby sevens in his own specialised style, as the former Australia back-row secured an impressive turnover against Fiji. Taking place in the final round of the HSBC SVNS series, Hooper impressed the onlookers in Hong Kong, for his maiden run out in the exhausting world of rugby sevens.
The commentary team appropriately called the jackal Hooper’s ‘bread and butter’, given that the former Wallabies captain had made a career from stealing the ball at the hotly contested breakdown. Hooper is embarking on his journey into rugby sevens in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. He certainly had a solid outing on his first involvement, and you can watch the former flanker in action in the clip below.
Impressing from the get go, Hooper is not the only former test match captain that has swapped 15s for sevens ahead of the Paris Olympics. France’s scrum half maestro Antoine Dupont has been causing quite the stir on the sevens circuit as well, as he too has pursued a switch to the sevens as France host the Games.
Rugby sevens is scheduled to run from the 24th to the 30th of July at the Stade de France, with Australia and France both eager to get their hands on a medal. The reigning gold medallists from the Tokyo Olympics are Fiji, as the Pacific Islanders beat New Zealand in the men’s final.