Hooper defends under fire Schmidt
SPOTLIGHT: Returning to France, where he was part of the Wallabies’ 2023 World Cup horror show, Tom Hooper could be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu.
Then, steered by coach Eddie Jones, the Australians hit a new tournament low as they crashed out in the pool rounds for the first time.
Two years later, the Wallabies are also facing unwanted history.
Falling to England, Italy and Ireland, Australia will look to salvage their northern tour with a victory over France in Paris.
But another defeat will mean a record tally of 10 losses in a calendar year and their first winless four-Test European tour in 67 years.
Hooper insists the feeling in the Wallabies’ camp is very different under coach Joe Schmidt, who has been heavily criticised for the team’s dismal current form.
The burly forward was part of the Australian outfit humiliated by Wales 6-40 in Lyon to all but confirm their World Cup exit.
“I’ve sat in a changing room in 2023 after the defeat to Wales, where we genuinely didn’t throw any punches at all,” Hooper said from Paris.
“The progress that we’ve had since then has been amazing.
“I know for the Australian fan base, it seems at the moment that we’re really down in the dumps.
“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’s never been stronger.
“And the key driver of that has been Joe Schmidt.”
Hooper said that the Kiwi mentor couldn’t be working any harder to help end the Wallabies’ slump.
“He genuinely 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 step down midway through 2026.
“He still believes in us, which is an amazing thing from a head coach.
“Straight after in that dressing room on the weekend, he got us all up on our feet, dusted us off, got us connected as a group, and he gave us one clear message, and that’s that he still believes in us.
“We have to believe in what we’re doing, and as Joe said, these results haven’t gone our way, but they are going to make us better.”
Schmidt’s selections and game plan have also come under fire. Still, Hooper said it was up to the players to execute their skills better, with their line-out and aerial game particularly frail in last weekend’s 19-46 thrashing by Ireland as they conceded six tries.
“We completely believe in what Joe’s building here, and we’ve all bought in completely to that program and the system that he had in place,” said Hooper, who has been one of Australia’s best performers throughout the year.
“On 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 all the coaching staff. How they’re preparing us has been wonderful.
“Ultimately, it’s just for us to make sure that we take tools that we’ve been given throughout the week, we’re calm, we’re collected, and then we deliver on the weekend.”
