A 3m dart over the line at the Singapore Sevens was not the most spectacular way for Michael Hooper to score his first try in rugby’s short format, but the former Wallabies skipper could see it as a milestone on the way to the Olympics.
A tireless competitor through a bruising career in the 15-man game, Hooper was capped 125 times for Australia and ranks among the nation’s finest players in a difficult period for the Wallabies.
However, his late-career switch to sevens might count among the 32-year-old’s steepest challenges as he battles to meet the athletic demands of the lower-profile sport.
Photo: EPA-EFE
It was therefore a small mercy when teammate Dietrich Roache gift-wrapped his maiden try in a win over Canada on Friday last week with an offload from a scrum.
“I fell over the line well, didn’t I?” Hooper said, jokingly. “That’s all I had to do. Two meters out and I just had to fall over the line, so if Dietrich can give me a couple more of those offloads, I’ll be happy.”
Hooper might be happy for any help in his bid for a spot in coach John Manenti’s Australia squad for Paris Olympics.
Once seemingly indestructible, a long career in rugby took its toll on Hooper’s mental and physical health over the past few years, and a calf injury played into coach Eddie Jones’ shock decision to omit Hooper from Australia’s World Cup squad last year.
His transition to sevens, only confirmed in November, was set back by injuries, including an Achilles problem that delayed his international debut to last month’s Hong Kong Sevens.
Hooper ultimately hopes to join a small list of players to have won an Olympic medal and played Tests, including South Africa’s Cheslin Kolbe and Kwagga Smith.
France scrumhalf Antoine Dupont is another Test player bidding for a medal at Paris, having made a successful entry on the global sevens circuit this year. Dupont’s interest has helped shoot France into medal contention and generated plenty of buzz for the Olympic tournament.
Australia’s sevens captain Nick Malouf believes Hooper could also boost their team’s chances of winning a maiden medal in the men’s event.
“He’s led the Wallabies for quite a period of time in big moments in big games,” Malouf said last month. “He understands what it takes and what good decisions look like and fostering a really good culture within a team. He’s a lot of Australians’ favorite rugby player.”
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
Shohei Ohtani on Sunday hit a 473-foot (144m) home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series. “Going into the break, we weren’t playing good baseball, and then to come out fresh against a really good ball club and to play the way we did — the offense came to life,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the
Conventional wisdom dictates that the average retirement age for elite female players in the intense and physically demanding sport of badminton is well under 30 years old. Five female shuttlers are set to turn that on its head when they make their fourth Olympic appearances at the Paris Games, a feat never accomplished before. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, 30, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, 29, Belgium’s Lianne Tan, 33, and Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Canada’s Michelle Li, both 32, are to compete for Olympic glory at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from Saturday to Aug. 5. “These achievements get missed because they’re women,” said