As the chants of happy birthday rang out across Murrayfield, Michael Hooper was all smiles after making a successful return to the Test arena.
The former Wallabies skipper, who turned 31 on match day, had double reason to celebrate after the Australians opened their five-match spring tour with a gritty 16-15 victory over Scotland.
Catch every game of the Wallabies’ Spring Tour LIVE on Stan Sport. Start your Free Sport Trial Now
Hooper hadn’t worn the green and gold in almost three months after he took personal leave on the eve of the Rugby Championship, saying he wasn’t in the “right mindset” to play.
But the Test centurion didn’t miss a beat in Edinburgh and said he was happy to back.
“I enjoyed it – it’s been a long time coming, still a fair bit to go but I just enjoyed competing tonight, it was good,” Hooper told Stan Sport.
“We showed great grit, this team always has that, but to get away with W is awesome.”
James Slipper retained the captain’s armband for the tour but veteran flanker Hooper’s presence on the field was notable, with even English referee Luke Pearce uncertain at times at who was steering the Wallabies.
“Tell you what mate, there’s a hell of a lot of captains here,” Pearce told Slipper after Hooper questioned a call.
Rushed straight back into the starting line-up, Hooper will be a key cog in the Wallabies through the gruelling tour although he said he wasn’t looking too far ahead.
“Purely a day at a time – that’s what I’ve tried to do so far,” he said.
“I’ve enjoyed being back in the mix. I want to grow my game and compete each week in these great stadiums and go from there.”
Despite Hooper’s best efforts the Wallabies were out-muscled early on at the breakdown which put pressure on their attack, forcing errors.
Hooper said they needed to be better with world No.2 France their next opponent, while top-ranked Ireland also awaits.
“The Scottish were good over our ball,” he said.
“We had some really good attacking passages but the Scots turned us over quite well and
denied some of our access into the 22.
“That was a bit frustrating there because we’ve got a lot more to show in attack.”
