Tom Hooper casts Wallabies future in doubt with move to England

Under fire Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter is set to try and quell fan discontent by strengthening his squad for next season with the signing of the highly rated young Wallaby star Tom Hooper from the Brumbies.

Baxter has come under renewed attack from a small section of the Chiefs fanbase following their 69-17 humbling at the hands of Top 14 pacesetters Bordeaux-Begles in the Investec Champions Cup at Sandy Park on Saturday.

The Chiefs are struggling all round this season. They have only won one game in 10 in the Gallagher Premiership and have also been defeated in all three of their games in Europe, conceding 172 points, the most of any team in the competition.

Fans are also unhappy at seeing a succession of big-name players leave the Devon-based club as they have struggled to come to terms with the financial impact of the COVID pandemic.

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Investec Champions Cup

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But it would appear that they have turned the corner. RugbyPass reported last week that, following several cost-cutting measures, pre-tax losses were reduced by £4.1m in the year ending June 2024 from £ 4.5m the previous year.

The club have slashed £2.7m from their wage bill, meaning that they only made a pre-tax loss of £419,000 in the last financial year, and this will allow Baxter to throw off the financial shackles and be more robust in the transfer market.

His extensive shopping list includes at least one hooker, an outside centre, a tight head and a scrum-half with blindside Hooper who has won 10 Test caps set to be the first new arrival through the door.

Hooper, who can also play openside and lock, will join veteran Wallaby Scott Sio, a former Brumbies team-mate at the Chiefs, in what is another blow to Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt.

Schmidt is still reeling from losing back-rower Langi Gleeson to Montpellier next season and has now got the news that Hooper, who played for Australia A against England A in a 38-17 defeat last November, is off as well.