For the Wallabies, the Hong Sevens was special. Their former test captain, with 122 caps, made the sevens debut.
It was a special moment for Michael Hooper to enter the world of sevens, and he made a grand entry. As the Australian Sevens side marked a win in the first game he played against Fiji, there is newfound hope for the Australian men’s side.
For all the fans with Hong Kong Sevens tickets, seeing a player in the likes of Michael Hooper was exhilarating. This was pure passion as a player who’s endlessly dedicated his entire career to rugby and as a powerhouse for Australia.
The experts believe the same and have weighed in on the Hooper situation.
Springboks legend Bryan Habana has thrown his support behind Wallabies veteran Michael Hooper, who is set to make his Sevens debut at the HSBC Hong Kong SVNS this weekend.
Hooper committed to the change after the Rugby World Cup, when he was dramatically omitted by the then-head coach of the Wallabies, Eddie Jones, who took Australia’s youngest side ever to the global showpiece.
The decision backfired equally dramatically, and since then, the former Wallabies captain has been preparing for the transition. The Perth leg of the circuit in January was initially earmarked as Hooper’s debut tournament, but it proved too soon, and the ‘rookie’ will make his Sevens bow at the Hong Sevens.
Hooper is not the only 15s star to make the switch, as Antoine Dupont of France has stolen headlines for his sensational performances for his country’s Sevens side, inspiring them to their first title in 19 years.
Work rate and leadership
Habana, who admitted failing to completely switch to Sevens during his career, expects Hooper to shine due to his high work rate and leadership skill set.
“The professionalism, the speed, and the skill set of the current sevens athlete is phenomenal, and many 15s players struggle with the transition – the anaerobic and aerobic effort over three days is absolutely brutal,” Habana told the South China Morning Post.
“Hoops has one of the most incredible work rates I have seen from anyone over the past 15 or 20 years.
“His leadership qualities, his ability to communicate with teammates and officials, and what he has already achieved on the biggest stages stand him in excellent stead (to succeed in sevens).
Tom Mitchell exclusive: ‘Unbelievable’ Antoine Dupont is the ‘greatest example’ of sevens convert.
“I played against him several times and was gutted he did not make the World Cup squad. A player of his ability and leadership skill set would have been integral to Australia achieving a different outcome.
“I have tried to share my experience (of the sevens switch) with him, but it comes down to him putting what he wants onto the field.
“I am extremely excited about his ability to impact, and I think he is well suited to the transition.”
Fans with Hong Kong Sevens tickets saw the trailer for what’s to come with Michael Hooper. With the Paris Olympics coming up, expect more from Hooper as they try to win a medal this year.
Fast Learner Dupont
France star Antoine Dupont has been told his decision to skip the Six Nations has a golden chance of paying off at the Olympics this summer.
Rugby union’s best player is taking a major gamble by parking his XVs career to represent France at sevens in the upcoming Paris Games.
Les Bleus struggled badly in his absence at the Six Nations, but the France 7’s side brought out a new lease of life.
Great Britain’s sevens great Tom Mitchell reckons Dupont remains untouchable – and says his stunning transition to the abbreviated format confirms his genius.
“For me, he is the best player in the world,” Mitchell, who captained GB to the silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, exclusively told Planet Rugby. “One of the best, I think, we’ll ever see.”
The former World Rugby sevens player of the year nominee was in Los Angeles to witness Dupont, playing only his second sevens tournament, inspire France to a first title in 19 years.
“You never want to pin it on one person because rugby is a team sport,” Mitchell says. “But it’s tough to argue that no player made the difference.
With Dupont having marked his sevens debut in Vancouver the week before with a bronze medal, Mitchell did not expect the reigning Six Nations player of the year to even feature in LA.
He explained that the risk of injury increases substantially in a back-to-back tournament “due to the fatigue you’re carrying and the soft tissue damage that occurs from week one.”
‘I didn’t know what I was getting into’ – Antoine Dupont on the brutality of sevens.
Not only did he play, Dupont was a standout performer.
Mitchell said: “The conditioning is different in sevens from XVs. You have to alter your conditioning, and one of the things that XVs players often find out about is their top-end speed because everyone on a sevens field is just that bit quicker.
“There’s a very high base level of pace, yet he ran in tries despite being hounded down by some speedy players. It is a testament to his unbelievable engine and how he has adapted physically.
“He was manhandling people in the tackle, in rucks stealing ball, passing kicking, roaming with his runs. Executing those skills on a sevens field when you’re layering on that bit of fatigue is remarkable.”
Dupont, France’s XVs captain, confirmed afterwards that a gold medal in a home Olympic Games is why he is missing the Six Nations and a chunk of Toulouse’s Top 14 campaign.
“We’re all focused on this, on busting a gut,” he told L’Equipe. “We’ve got a few months and tournaments to go. But we’ve all got this target in mind to do something special.”
The 27-year-old has lifted France from seventh to fourth in the rankings, and Mitchell is not about to bet against him.
“Going from winning LA to Paris gold is not a leap at all,” he said. “Dupont is far and away the most outstanding example of someone coming across from an almost purely XV background and slotting in seamlessly and adding value.
“Having such a superstar come in can have a detrimental effect on a team. We saw that in previous years, I guess in New Zealand and the USA in Rio, where they bought some big guns, and they didn’t serve the team all that well.
Until a few months back, you would have had long odds on France’s Olympic sevens squad, which was faring better than the nation did in that tournament, where champions-to-be South Africa ended the dream.
Fans with Hong Sevens tickets ratified this statement, embracing the new wave of sevens from France and adding them to their follow list.
