Michael Hooper has enjoyed a dream return to Super Rugby, scoring for the first time since 2019 as the Waratahs secured an easy win over the Fijian Drua.
The Waratahs were tested early but had too much class for the Fijians, scoring three unanswered tries in the second half to run out 38-14 winners at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.
Hooper, who was playing in his first match for the Waratahs in 580 days, came off the bench in the second half and scored a try in the 53rd minute.
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The 30-year-old is one of the more senior players in the Waratahs squad, but he earned plaudits for the way he meshed with his younger teammates.
“The nice thing was he went out there with no real expectations to be like the global superstar that he is,” All Blacks icon Andrew Mehrtens said on Stan Sport’s coverage.
“He just played his role. He wasn’t captain, which was a good thing, as well. He didn’t have that added pressure of taking that role on.”
Waratahs skipper Jed Holloway also lauded the Wallabies gun for his presence around his younger teammates.
“He’s good to have around the lads,” Holloway said after the match.
“He’s a bit older than our squad, as am I, there’s a bit of an age gap there, so some of the boys are a bit intimidated by him, but his name speaks for himself. Just having him around the crew is valuable.”
“Obviously he’s got a presence in their squad,” Wallabies great Drew Mitchell added.
“You see him talking to the younger guys and they’re almost overawed because of the presence he has. What he’s really good at is making everyone feel comfortable.
“Even not coming back and taking the captaincy when Jed Holloway went off… Hugh Sinclair was the one that took over the captain’s armband and made the decisions. He may have referred to Hoops, but Hoops wasn’t the guy coming over the top.
“He just knows his place, he wants to come back in and have an impact on and off the field at training and also in the game, and he’s going to be a big addition to the Waratahs this year.”
Mehrtens suggested that being able to witness Hooper’s work at close quarters would stand the Waratahs’ youngsters in good stead.
“It’s a great example for the young players,” he said.
“Just watching what he does and realising that there’s nothing extraordinarily complex about what the top players do. It’s just about working really hard, doing the simple things really, really well.
“Having a guy of that age come back and seeing how much that still means to him, that’s inspiring for the young guys, as well.
“Even though they look like they’re off on a trip to the headmaster’s when they were talking to him, just watching how Michael Hooper operates and does the simple things well will be great for them.”
Hooper was one of six Waratahs to hit the scoreboard with a try, with Dylan Pietsch (16th minute), Charlie Gamble (28), David Porecki (37), Jed Holloway (45) and Mark Nawaqanitawase (65) all crossing over.
Mitchell praised the Waratahs for closing out the game after going into the half-time break with a 10-point lead.
“They had a real ruthless edge about them tonight,” he said.
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“They kept it structured. They didn’t allow the Fijian Drua to get back into the game too much, and defended really well.
“That’s probably the biggest improvement we’ve seen from the Waratahs of 2021 to 2022.
“When you’re coming up against a team that thrives in unstructured footy like the Fijian Drua, it’s really important, and I think they did that really well tonight.”
The Waratahs will have a bye in round eight before taking on the Western Force in round nine.
The Drua will face the Brumbies in round eight before enjoying their bye the following week.