Tom Hooper returns to France, a place that evokes bittersweet memories after the disappointing participation of the Wallabies in the 2023 World Cup. Under the direction of Eddie Jones, Australia experienced a tournament to forget, being eliminated in the group stage for the first time.
Two years later, the Wallabies face a similar situation, seeking to avoid a negative record. After falling to England, Italy, and Ireland, the Australian team will seek to redeem themselves with a victory against France in Paris.
Another defeat would mean a record of 10 losses in a calendar year and their first winless European tour in four matches in 67 years.
Hooper says the atmosphere in the Wallabies camp is very different under coach Joe Schmidt, who has been criticized for the team’s current poor performance.
The burly player was part of the Australian team humiliated by Wales in the 2023 World Cup.
“The progress we have made since then has been amazing.” “I know that for the Australian fans, at this moment it seems that we are really 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 so strong.” “And the main driver of that has been Joe Schmidt.” Hooper highlighted Schmidt’s hard work in helping the Wallabies overcome their slump.“I sat in a changing room in 2023 after the defeat against Wales, where we really didn’t throw any punches at all,” Hooper said from Paris.
Tom Hooper
“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 come out as we wanted, but they are going to make us better.” Schmidt’s selections and game plan have also been criticized, but Hooper stated that it depended on the players to execute their skills better, especially in the aerial game and in the lineout, which were particularly weak in the defeat against Ireland. “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,” said Hooper, who has been one of Australia’s best players all year. “Over the weekend, there were a couple of times when their system and their program would have worked, but we simply didn’t execute as players.” “So we fully believe in their ability and the ability of the entire coaching staff, the way they are preparing us has been wonderful.” “Ultimately, it’s up to us to make sure we take the tools we’ve been given all week, that we are calm, serene, and then perform on the weekend.”“He doesn’t really 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.
Tom Hooper
