Tom Hooper returns to France, a place that evokes bittersweet memories after the Wallabies’ participation in the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The Australian player, who was part of that team, could feel a sense of déjà vu.
Under coach Eddie Jones, the Australians suffered a forgettable tournament, being eliminated in the group stage for the first time in their history.
Two years later, the Wallabies face a new chapter in their history, but this time it is not the desired one.
After falling to England, Italy, and Ireland, Australia will seek to redeem itself on its spring tour with a victory against France in Paris.
However, another defeat would mean a record of 10 defeats in a year and their first winless European tour in four matches in 67 years.
Hooper insists that the atmosphere in the Wallabies camp is very different under the direction of coach Joe Schmidt, who has been criticized for the team’s current poor performance.
The burly forward was part of the Australian team humiliated by Wales 40-6 in Lyon, which practically confirmed their elimination from the World Cup.
From Paris, Hooper stated: “The progress we have made since then has been amazing.”I sat in a changing room in 2023 after the defeat against Wales, where we really didn’t land any punches.
Tom Hooper
Hooper added that the New Zealand mentor couldn’t be working harder to help end the Wallabies’ losing streak.I know that for the Australian fans, at the moment it seems that we are very depressed. We are mentally, but physically and in terms of our belief and our psyche towards where we can take this team and where we are going to take this team, it has never been stronger. And the main driver of that has been Joe Schmidt.
Tom Hooper
Hooper referred to Schmidt, who will leave his position in mid-2026.He doesn’t really sleep, he’s always working for us, so when it comes to team meetings, the message is clear.
Tom Hooper
Schmidt’s selections and game plan have also been criticized, but Hooper said it was up to the players to execute their skills better, with their lineout and aerial game particularly fragile in last weekend’s 46-19 thrashing against Ireland, where they conceded six tries.He still believes in us, which is amazing from a head coach. Immediately after in that locker room on the weekend, he got us all on our feet, shook us up, connected us as a group and gave us a clear message, and that is that he still believes in us. We have to believe in what we are doing and, as Joe said, these results have not favored us, but they are going to make us better.
Tom Hooper
We completely believe in what Joe is building here, and we’ve all completely bought into that program and the system he had in place. Over the weekend, there were a couple of times that his system and his program would have worked, but we just didn’t execute as players. So we fully believe in his ability and the ability of the entire coaching staff, the way they’re preparing us has been wonderful. Ultimately, it just comes down to us making sure we take the tools that they’ve given us all week, be calm, be poised, and then perform on the weekend.
Tom Hooper
