Hooper announces retirement after missing Olympics

1 day ago 5

Former Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper has brought down the curtain connected a legendary Australian vocation aft missing enactment successful the men’s sevens squad for the Olympic Games successful Paris.

Hooper revealed connected societal media helium is retiring from Australian rugby aft helium did not marque the chopped for the 12-man squad for the Olympics, which was finalised by manager John Manenti astatine a grooming campy successful Darwin implicit the weekend.

An injury-plagued twelvemonth yet denied the 32-year-old the accidental to equine a realistic effort to triumph selection.

“What a ride! My Olympic travel has travel to an end, and with it, my Australian rugby career,” Hooper wrote.

“To the Aussie Sevens team, I privation you each the best. You’ve been an awesome, helpful, and talented radical of athletes to beryllium portion of.”

“As for my clip successful Australian Rugby, I’m grateful to my household and friends for their unwavering enactment throughout. We’ve shared an unthinkable journey, filled with unforgettable experiences, challenges, and memories. Thank you.”

The Australian sevens squad volition beryllium announced by the AOC connected Wednesday, but Hooper made the announcement to guarantee his lack would not instrumentality absorption distant from teammates are named successful the Games squad, according to sources with cognition of the substance who are not permitted to remark owed to the confidential enactment process.

The sources said Hooper besides resisted the enactment of him inactive travelling to Paris arsenic 1 of the 2 exigency reserve players, pushing for a longer-serving squad subordinate get the spot instead.

After controversially missing enactment successful the Wallabies’ squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Hooper sought to person 1 past ace astatine a farewell successful France astatine the Olympics by signing connected with the Aussie sevens team precocious past year.

But astatine the property of 32 and having lone ever played sevens erstwhile earlier a nine tournament, the rigours of converting his assemblage into a sevens athlete proved troublesome - and yet proved to beryllium the crushed helium missed selection.

Michael Hooper takes a selfie with fans astatine the Hong Kong Sevens successful April.

Hooper suffered strains successful a calf musculus and an Achilles tendon portion grooming implicit summer, and the injuries delayed his introduction into the squad from a planned debut successful Perth successful January to his eventual archetypal quality successful Hong Kong successful April.

He made a 2nd quality successful Singapore and was steadily progressing, but a groin wounded saw him ruled retired of a last tournament successful Madrid. And though Hooper recovered to marque a precocious propulsion to marque the chopped for the Olympics during affable games against Fiji, the injury-plagued tally meant Hooper ran retired of runway to go accustomed to the sevens format.

Hooper has near unfastened a doorway to playing connected successful Japan oregon perchance adjacent the USA. Speculation had swirled precocious that the flanker was considering options that could spot him marque a comeback for the British and Irish Lions bid adjacent year, but that doorway has been closed.

Hooper enjoyed a distinguished vocation successful Australian rugby, playing 125 Tests for the Wallabies implicit a 12-year career. He was the fastest Australian subordinate to 50 Test caps, the youngest to play 100 Tests and besides the longest serving Wallabies captain.

Hooper won the John Eales medal 4 times and played astatine 2 Rugby World Cups, successful 2015 and 2019.

In a stellar Super Rugby vocation spanning 14 years and 169 games for the Brumbies and NSW, Hooper captained the Waratahs to triumph successful the 2014 final, lasting successful for the injured Dave Dennis. He was awarded the Waratahs’ players’ subordinate 8 times.