Michael Hooper backed to make swift Wallabies comeback

“He will be picked on merit. Knowing Hoops well, he wants to fight for his position. He doesn’t want to roll up and just be picked in the team, and on the training paddock, you have already seen it today, he will get stuck in. He is just a competitor naturally, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he is in and around that team in the first game.”

Without the factor of captaincy involved, there is a high likelihood Rennie will look to re-introduce Hooper to the Wallabies for a 122nd Test via the bench when the time comes. It would be only his seventh Test as a non-starter.

Pete Samu’s outstanding form in the No.7 will give him deserved incumbency, but a vacancy could emerge given Rob Leota’s absence, and a middle-row re-shuffle in the wake of Matt Philip’s injury.

But whatever the position, or week, it comes, Slipper said the Wallabies will be buoyed simply by having the veteran back on the team bus.

“It is just great to see him back,” Slipper said.

“He has definitely been missed, he is one of our most experienced players. The most capped Wallaby captain. So that sort of leadership and experience, being taken out of the team throughout the year, it was tough and it was a bit of a shock to most of the players. That’s what makes it so great to see him back.”

Slipper said he was happy to serve as captain for as long as required, and said the goal of the Wallabies on the five-Test tour was to play with some sorely needed consistency and to build momentum into a World Cup year.

That’s easier said than done given the Wallabies have been highly inconsistent this year, and face a tough fixture list of Scotland, France, Italy, Ireland and Wales over the next five weeks. Now ranked No.9 in the world, the Wallabies only outrank Italy and will be outsiders against the other four.

Loading

“We want to go over with the expectation to win, as well. We are not going over there to come second. It is all about going out there and doing it. It is no use to me standing here talking about what I want to do. It is about going over there and doing it,” Slipper said.

“You kind of want that momentum heading into a World Cup, and for us it is a great opportunity for us to start that momentum now.”

Watch Japan XV v Australia A streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Saturday from 3.50pm AEDT on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport.