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'The greater good': Coach hoping others join Hooper in quest for Olympic medal
By Finn Morton
With the opportunity to challenge for an Olympic medal waiting on the horizon, Australian sevens coach John Manenti is hoping other 15s stars join Michael Hooper in the sport’s shorter format.
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Hooper’s illustrious 15s career in Wallaby gold was cut agonisingly short in August as coach Eddie Jones unveiled the Australian squad to take on the best of the best at the Rugby World Cup.
There was no room for Hooper in the squad, so instead the Wallabies’ most-capped captain in history linked up with Stan Sport as a pundit during rugby’s biggest event.
But Hooper refused to throw in the towel as an international. At 32 years of age, the New South Welshman was officially announced as a sevens player earlier this week.
It’s a bold, intriguing and headline-grabbing move for Hooper to make as the four-time John Eales Medallist looks ahead to a fairytale finish in France that he wasn’t given an opportunity to bring to life as a Wallaby.
But, interestingly, Hooper might not be the last player to make the switch.
But for that to happen, coach Manenti has called on all Super Rugby franchises and Rugby Australia to “get everyone in line” as the sport comes to terms with the significance of the opportunity.
“We’ll look at hopefully getting some of the guys that have been around the program before like (Corey) Tooley and those guys involved at some stages throughout the year so they can be ready for the Olympics if they get the call-up,” Manenti told Rugby.com.au.
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“There are still conversations which we have to work through with both Rugby Australia and the Super franchises to get everyone in line on board.
“Everyone agrees the Olympics is really important for Australian rugby that we do well. I don’t know (if) we can underestimate on the back of a disappointing World Cup what a great shot in the arm it would be if we could do something special at the Olympics and medal.
“That’s a huge challenge but the better the armoury we can go with, the better chance we’ve got to do it.
“We’re in a great battle with other codes to try and get and recruit kids and I couldn’t imagine a better endorsement for getting into rugby than winning a gold medal at the Olympics.”
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Melbourne Rebels recruit Darby Lancaster is another genuine SVNS talent the Olympic-bound Aussies would surely love to have back in the mix.
Lancaster, who played for the Junior Wallabies this year after impressing on the World Series, enjoyed a rapid rise as an international on the sevens circuit before signing with the Rebels.
But an opportunity to help deliver the first Olympic medal in Australian men’s sevens history means that some players, potentially including a Wallaby, may need to make “a tough decision” in 2024.
“There’s a couple realities to what we’re trying to do is that at some stage, some of the Super teams have to be prepared to release a player for a game,” Manenti added.
“If we’re going to take someone to Hong Kong or somewhere, he may have to miss a game of Super Rugby so there’s going to be an understanding for the betterment of the greater good.
“It may not even be a starting player, maybe a squad player but I mean if we’re going to have success at some stage, the Super Rugby franchises have to support us in some capacity and that could mean missing a game.
“This may mean that a Wallaby may miss a Test to come to the Olympics and that’s where the alignment of the game comes so that’s a tough decision of whether they want to be an Olympian of a Wallaby and that isn’t an easy decision that people make and they’ll be individual decisions.”
