Australia legend George Gregan believes that Michael Hooper has ‘sent a very good message’ by putting his mental health first.
The 30-year-old withdrew from the squad just prior to the Wallabies’ first Rugby Championship match against Argentina and missed the whole tournament.
Hooper stated that he wasn’t in the right mindset to play for Dave Rennie’s men back in August, but he has recovered to take his place in the squad for the end-of-year Tests.
The mark of the man
“That just epitomises Michael Hooper,” Gregan told The Age.
“The fact he put his hand up and said he wasn’t right, that was really, really important. It was courageous. It sends a very good message.
“He’s in a position where if he’s not 110 per cent, he’s going to put his hand up. He empties the tank every time he plays. That’s the way he prepares too. He’s an incredible leader.”
Despite returning to the squad, James Slipper retains the captaincy ahead of Hooper, a move Gregan has backed as the flanker eases himself back into Test rugby.
“I think it’s a nice way for him to just get back in,” the former scrum-half said. “He can get back to doing what he does and find his Test match rhythm, which I think he’ll pick up pretty quickly.
“He’s always going to lead. ‘Slips’ has done a very good job and he has good experience. I’ve always said you need five to six leaders in your team.
“Captains have to front up and do a lot of the media work and be there for the coin toss. I’m not saying it’s that simple being a captain, but when you’ve got wonderful leadership spread across your team, it certainly takes that burden away and I think that’s the case here.
“Whoever is going to be captaining that Wallaby team has a really good group of players who are starting to get a lot of Test matches under the belt.”
Australia go into the upcoming tour under pressure having finished the Rugby Championship in third position, ending the competition with three successive defeats.
Tough schedule
Rennie’s charges face the top two teams in the world in France and Ireland, while they also take on Scotland, Italy and Wales.
Victories in those three latter three contests will be their primary target as they attempt to end the Autumn Nations Series with a winning record.
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“I’m pretty black and white when it comes to sport. You get moments which you have to deliver on. If you don’t win those big moments then you’re on the wrong side of the ledger,” Gregan said.
“Dave Rennie wants his team competing hard and you can definitely see that with that comeback against New Zealand in the first Bledisloe Test match where they were down with 15 minutes to go. Forget how it ended, that showed a lot of character. That to me epitomised to me any team that Dave Rennie’s coached.
“(Rennie) has got a winning mindset and that’s got to be embraced. He’s got a great coaching staff and the players just have to want to win the big moments. They want to get over the line. You’ll get those opportunities again, you’ve got to start converting them.
“It’s a big Test match tour isn’t it. A five-week tour heading into a World Cup is a very good thing.”