Wallabies’ legendary back-rower Michael Hooper looks set to make a return to the pitch after signing a short-term deal in Japan.
The flanker has not featured since his ill-fated sevens stint, which saw him miss out on the Olympics.
Hooper then turned to punditry, suggesting that his playing days might be over, but he has always kept the door open should an overseas opportunity arise.
That has duly happened with the loose forward agreeing a contract with Toyota Verblitz for the remainder of the campaign, a team he played for back in 2021.
Pieter-Steph du Toit injury
They are led by ex-All Blacks head coaches Sir Steve Hansen and Ian Foster and it was the former who called him following an injury to Springboks star and current World Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit.
“It’s a great club, really good people and competitive,” Hooper told Wide World of Sports.
“There wasn’t too many places I would have really been keen to play, and this was right up there because I had such a fond memory from being up there a few years back.
“Really lucky, to be honest, and thankful for Steve Hansen to give me an opportunity.”
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Hooper has not played XVs since November 2023 where he featured for the Barbarians against Wales.
That came after he missed out on the Rugby World Cup, with Eddie Jones taking the surprise decision to axe him from the Wallabies squad ahead of the tournament.
Having not featured in that format of the game since then, the flanker admits that he will have to put on “a kilo or two” before taking to the field.
The 33-year-old is now injury-free, however, after a difficult 2024 which saw him struggle with the physical rigours of sevens.
‘Hail Mary’
“It was a hard stint in trying to learn a different game and the body didn’t cooperate as well as I would have liked,” Hooper said.
“By the end of that I was pretty cooked because it felt like I’d been battling body stuff for a while and not getting the rewards out of it.
“So when I finished up with sevens, it was very much a case of, ‘OK, well, I’m needing a break’. I don’t know what it’s going to look like.
“I don’t know if that’s taking the field again. If I don’t take the field again, I’m OK with that.
“But there is still a little part of me that would like to see if I could mix it again. I’m just stoked. It’s a bit of a Hail Mary that we didn’t see coming.
“There was some discussions a while back but this has really developed in pretty much a week’s time.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/michael-hooper-makes-shock-playing-return-after-answering-all-blacks-legends-sos-following-pieter-steph-du-toits-stars-injury
