Tom Hooper returns to France, a place that evokes bittersweet memories after the Wallabies’ participation in the 2023 World Cup. The experience, marked by a disappointing performance, could generate a feeling of déjà vu.
Under coach Eddie Jones, the Australians reached a new low in the tournament, being eliminated in the group stage for the first time.
Two years later, the Wallabies once again face an undesired historical situation.
After falling to England, Italy and Ireland, Australia will seek to salvage their spring tour with a victory over France in Paris.
However, another defeat would mean a record of 10 defeats in a calendar year and their first four-match European tour without a win 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 heavily 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.
“The progress we’ve made since then has been astounding.” “I know that for the Australian fans, at this moment it seems that we are really down.” “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.” Hooper added that the New Zealand mentor works tirelessly to help end the Wallabies’ losing streak. “He really doesn’t sleep, he’s always working for us, so when it comes to team meetings, the message is clear,” Hooper said of Schmidt, who will leave the post in mid-2026. “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 haven’t gone well for us, but they will make us better.” Schmidt’s selections and game plan have also been criticized, but Hooper said it was up to the players to better execute their skills, with their lineout and aerial game particularly fragile in last weekend’s thrashing (46-19) against Ireland, where they conceded six tries. “We completely believe in what Joe is building here, and we have all completely bought into that program and the system he had in place,” said Hooper, who has been one of Australia’s best players throughout the year. “Over the weekend, there were a couple of times that their system and their program would have worked, but we simply didn’t execute as players.” “So we fully believe in their ability and in the ability of the entire coaching staff, how they are preparing us has been wonderful.” “Ultimately, it’s only up to us to make sure we take the tools we’ve been given all week, that we are calm, that we are serene, and then perform on the weekend.”I sat in a changing room in 2023 after the defeat against Wales, where we really didn’t throw any punches.
Hooper
