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Rugby Australia statement: Michael Hooper and the 2024 Olympics
By Liam Heagney
Michael Hooper is on course to potentially clash with Antoine Dupont at next year’s Olympic Games after Rugby Australia confirmed that the ex-Wallabies skipper will be part of his country’s men’s sevens squad in 2024.
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The confirmation came just hours after it was revealed in France that Dupont is set to miss the upcoming Guinness Six Nations and instead play on the revamped HSBC SNVS Series so that he can take part in the Games next July at Stade de France.
A statement read: “Australia’s most-capped Wallabies captain, Michael Hooper, has signed on with Rugby Australia’s sevens squad for 2024 and will embark upon the upcoming global HSBC SVNS Series, as the programme sets its sights on the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
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“A four-time winner of the John Eales medal as the Wallabies player’s player of the year, Hooper switches to the sevens programme having made his Super Rugby debut in 2010 for the NSW Waratahs and with 125 Test caps to his name.
“Hooper will join the sevens programme full-time in January and is hopeful of playing in his first tournament on home soil at the inaugural Perth SVNS over the Australia Day long weekend.
“World Rugby has revamped the global HSBC SVNS Series for 2024, with the calendar now incorporating eight rugby festivals in major cities around the world, and with both men’s and women’s competitions taking place at each event – Perth being the third stop of the new season.
“The Australian men’s sevens qualified automatically for the Olympics as a result of their finishing position in last year’s World Rugby Sevens Series, with the sevens showpiece tournament to be held at the Stade de France in Paris next July.
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“The Australian men’s and women’s sevens teams begin their SVNS series campaign on December 2-3 in Dubai before visiting Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore and Madrid on the road to the 2024 Paris Olympics.”
Hooper said: “I’d like to thank John Manenti (Australian men’s sevens coach) and Scott Bowen (national performance manager – sevens) for the opportunity to join the programme in what is a massively exciting year with the Olympics on the horizon.
“The transition is something I have thought a lot about and I’m extremely motivated by the challenge of playing sevens and trying to earn my way into this team. I’ve started making a few changes to my training in preparation and can’t wait to get started in January.”
Manenti added: “Michael is an outstanding rugby player and a great leader, so we are thrilled to have him join our programme. We know he has got a strong skillset for sevens and a big engine and we are looking forward to helping him transition quickly to the format.
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“He is a player with big-game experience and to have someone like Michael in our set-up can be a point of difference for us next year.”
- HSBC SVNS Perth is the third round of the season and takes place at HBF Park in Perth from January 26-28. Click here for tickets
