Michael Hooper to come out “all guns blazing” in Sydney

Editor

Australia captain Michael Hooper says that they are looking for a fast start against the All Blacks in the opening Rugby Championship game.

Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup encounter marks the flanker’s return from injury having missed the end of the Waratahs’ Super Rugby campaign.

Hooper is a crucial component of the Wallabies team and the skipper is looking to make up for lost time when he takes to the field in Sydney.

“I’m going to come out all guns blazing,” the flanker told reporters. “We’re ready, we’re good to go…bring it on. I feel really ready and can’t wait for Saturday’s match.”

Hooper is renowned for his energy around the field, but sometimes that has led to the flanker and his team-mates feeling the wrath of the referee’s whistle.

The 26-year-old therefore admits that they need to improve their discipline and find the right moment to disrupt opposition ball.

He said: “The line is hard to pick. You’ve got to feel it off your gut sometimes. It’s something that certainly the leaders in our team are constantly working on to try and pick that line.

“You want to be fired up and ready to get off the line and disrupt, but when things don’t go your way – against quality teams sometimes they don’t – you’ve got to try and drag that momentum back. Not losing your head, keeping your cool and sticking to your game plan is important.

“That is very much what we’re going to do this week: stick to our stuff, bring ourselves back and play our game. Our game is ready to go for tomorrow night against these guys.

“It comes down to speed at the ruck, it’s so important at Test level…being able to retain our ball and slow their ball up.

“We’re fully capable of scoring points, we showed that in June and at other times. Back-row has a fair bit to do with the ruck attacking and defence. Getting that area sorted is paramount.”

Should Australia beat the world champions then it would see them claim successive victories over the All Blacks having defeated Steve Hansen’s men 23-18 in Brisbane last year.

However, that triumph followed seven consecutive losses to New Zealand and Hooper knows the challenge that they will face on Saturday.

“There’s no easy way around this thing. It’s going to be hard, and that’s why different teams and different players have struggled over the course of however many years,” Hooper added.

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