Rugby World UK – July 2019

21

MICHAEL

HOOPER

91

100 Best Players

Age 27 (29 October 1991) Position Back-row

S

UPER HOOPER likes to get

things done fast, whether

snaffling turnovers, busting

defences or clocking up

cap tallies. He raced to a half-century of

Wallaby appearances in a record three

years four months, and is on course to

become the youngest Test centurion.

He should win his 100th cap during

this year’s World Cup – two years earlier

than Sam Whitelock and George Smith,

who reached their milestones aged 29.

He’s already hit one century this year,

running out for the Waratahs for a 100th

time, and has been far and away the

best tackler in Super Rugby. No wonder

Rugby Australia pinned him down to a

five-year deal 12 months ago, one that

will take him through to RWC 2023.

Bernard Foley describes Hooper as

“the soul” of the Waratahs and hails his

team-mate’s work ethic, saying: “He

buries himself so much in games and

then he pulls his head out of a ruck and

his eyes are going every which way.”

Hooper’s captaincy, too, is vital –

never more so than during a challenging

period for Australian rugby that centred

on the sacking of Israel Folau.

Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson says:

“The major growth when I’ve been here

is his development as a leader. He’s

very driven to make sure he is the best

leader he can be. It’s often said that if

you had 15 like him you’d never lose.”

Fortunately for the rest of the world,

there’s only one Michael Hooper!

Age 31 (2.11.87) Position Fly-half
Some see Cipriani as an enigma.
Wrong, being enigmatic is nothing to
do with it. His genius depends not so
much on the opposition but on his own
team and coach. It is impossible for
genius to flow if you are surrounded
by 14 mental clodhoppers. And he
cannot flourish unless the coach
trusts him to run the whole attack.
His strength is to call for the ball from
the forwards when he thinks fit – and
to make the next plays on the hoof, no
set move, just a basic framework of

runners at different angles. The

speed at which he can find the best

option for his pass is breathtaking.

He was the ideal ringmaster at Wasps

with Jimmy Gopperth outside him,

Elliot Daly and Christian Wade out wide

and Willie le Roux at 15. At Gloucester,

alongside Billy Twelvetrees and Mark

Atkinson, he’s been similarly effective.

What you cannot do is sign Danny for

your team, then insist that he conforms

to what is already there. Which is why

the Premiership and RPA Player of the

Year so rarely gets chosen by England.

22 DANNY CIPRIANI
16