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Michael Hooper signs short term deal in Japan

Michael Hooper of the Wallabies looks on during game one of the international test match series between the Australian Wallabies and England at Optus Stadium on July 02, 2022 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Wallabies legend Michael Hooper has come out of retirement to sign for Japanese League One side Toyota Verblitz.

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The 33-year-old has put pen to paper on a short-term deal, that will see Hooper link up with a Verblitz side coached by Steve Hansen and Ian Foster, with the likes of Aaron Smith and Joseph Manu in the playing squad.

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Hooper, who retired after missing Olympic Sevens selection last year, says that he has fond memories from his short Japan stint in 2021.

“It’s a great club, really good people and competitive,” Hooper told WWOS.

“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.”

Hooper played ten games for Verblitz in the 2021 Japan League One season, after being released from his NSW Waratahs contract to take a sabbatical in Japan.

The 125-Test Wallaby was excited for his new journey, something that he wasn’t expecting to happen.

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“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.”

Hooper received a call from head coach Hansen, who offered him a deal as Springbok star Pieter-Steph du Toit sustained an injury at some point throughout the first month of Japan League One action.

Toyota Verblitz have struggled to start the Japanese season, only picking up their first victory four games into the season in last weekend’s clash with TJ Perenara’s Black Rams.

Fixture
Japan Rugby League One
Toyota Verblitz
22 - 38
Full-time
Saitama Wild Knights
All Stats and Data

They currently sit in eighth place ahead of their important match-up this weekend against the Robbie Deans’ coached top-of-the-table side, the Saitama Wild Knights.

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EllenMoody 4 hours ago
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JWH 5 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Do you hear yourself? Do you have any concept of world view? Have you tried looking into why people call Ireland ‘arrogant’? Obviously not.


We started calling you arrogant when you called our captain a ‘shit Richie McCaw’. In New Zealand. On our turf. Don’t think that kind of behaviour really calls for respect, does it.


NZ don’t really talk ourselves up, if anything the rugby does it for us. No kiwi goes in the media and says: ‘We are gonna win the RWC’. However, I have found many instance of IRISH media saying that the Irish should win, without a doubt. THAT is disrespectful.


The All Blacks have played good rugby, even some of the best rugby ever, at many points in history, but I don’t think you could find a single instance of one of those players, or the NZ media, saying that they should whitewash their opponents. Ever.


Now, onto your analysis. Ireland DID choke the QF. They beat the champions, they were ranked first coming into it, a lot of players at the peaks of their powers. Its hard to say that they didn’t choke. Obviously, their preparation was just not as good as NZ, and thats all there really is to it.


If Ireland had repsected that ABs team and that QF more, maybe they would’ve prepared properly for it and won. But they didn’t.


Maybe if Ireland had won their QF last RWC, they wouldn’t have to be in the same pool as SA and Scotland. I mean, its called a draw for a reason. NZ got third last RWC, so of course they should get a reasonable pool, and they were ranked pretty highly too. If you want to talk about easy pools, look no further than Pool 3 with England, Australia, Fiji, and Georgia I think?


Now, obviously you don’t remember how that QF ended, so I’ll go ahead and rectify that. Ireland reclaimed the ball off kickoff and marched for 20ish phases into the opposition half. Savea then won a turnover, but the referee refused to give it, so play went on. Finally, at the NZ 22, after not giving up a single penatly in 25 phases of hard defense, Sam Whitelock, the most capped All Black of all time, wins the game with an incredible steal.


Now, NZ players having a go at Ireland. Do you cry when you get hit after making the first swing? We all know Sexton is a prick on the field, its just the truth. And Ioane never backs down from a clash, so he thought he should humble a player who has never won an international knockout game who thought he was all that. Don’t really see the issue, its poetic justice really.

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