Monday’s rugby news has Stephen Moore backing Hooper, Waratahs to persist, Brumbies reveal emotional impact of Ita Vaea’s retirement and Mens sevens finish seventh in Singapore.
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Moore Backs Hooper
Wallabies captain Stephen Moore has defended Michael Hooper after being heavily criticised for his performances.
Last week former Wallaby coach Bob Dwyer said “He’s gone from being an absolutely outstanding player to what I think is a total non-event. I do not know what’s happened to him. It’s got me stumped.”
“I felt for him and I don’t think he deserves that. I know how much he puts his body on the line for the team, whatever team it is,” Moore said.
“He’ll continue to do that and lead the team like he does.
“There’s still a long way to go in the season.”
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Tahs to Persist
Waratahs halfback Nick Phipps believes that persistence is the key to the Waratahs finals aspirations.
The Waratahs finals hopes have slumped after losing to the Brumbies for the second time this season on the weekend.
“Just the single-minded doggedness, just persistence. We have to keep persisting at it,” halfback Nick Phipps said.
“We are a strong group. Nothing is going to deter us from our goal. It is disappointing, but it is a minor setback at the beginning of a seven-week block. It happens. We played a quality team. We let ourselves down but we know it was winnable at stages, so we shouldn’t be too deterred.
“We just have to just keep persisting and get better at what we have been doing.”
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Brumbies Cherish Victory
Brumbies winger Joe Tomane has revealed the emotional impact of Ita Vaea’s retirement early last week.
Tomane scored a hat-trick against the Waratahs whilst wearing a wristband which had Vaea nickname written on it.
“A lot of the guys (broke down). It was a really emotional week.” Tomane said. “Especially for a couple of the guys who have been here since he came down. It was really tough and I was just glad we were able to get one for him.
“We had to control our emotions out there with that kind of stuff, we were trying to stay focused. But it was at the back of everyone’s mind.
“We don’t know why things pan out the way it does. God works in mysterious ways, so I am sure whatever Dox does in the future, he will be a massive success.”
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Mens Sevens Finish 7th
The Australian Mens Sevens team has finished seventh in the Singapore Sevens after losing to Fiji and New Zealand on the final day.
“I thought our performance against Fiji was good but it was disappointing that we couldn’t close it out. At the moment we are losing too many big moments, crucial moments, in the big games which is hurting us,” said coach Andy Friend.
“Against New Zealand we simply didn’t have enough of the ball. I think we only made it into their half once with the ball and that comes down to our restarts and our accuracy.
“I thought Con Foley was terrific for us all weekend and Tom Kingston was really strong. James [Stannard] perhaps didn’t have his best weekend but I’ve seen the way he led the team and it is really impressive. Sam Figg is another that has put his hand up and said that he is keen to play.”
