Confusion reigns in Super Rugby final as Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper mistakes himself for a HIA, thinking he was ordered to do so by the referee in final game for NSW Waratahs
- Hooper played in the last game ever for Waratahs
- NSW were crushed by Auckland Blues
- Confusing scenes as Hooper walked off the field
Champion Wallabies captain Michael Hooper was offended by injury last night in a bizarre and brutal end to his glittering Super Rugby career.
The Waratahs will regret sending Hooper off in such a lackluster fashion after the Blues finished NSW’s season with a 41-12 clinical victory in the opening quarter-final of Super Rugby Pacific of 2023.
That included a moment of confusion in which Hooper – one of Australia’s most capped players of all time – clattered for ages and ruled himself out for a HIA because he thought the referee had ordered him off the field.
Auckland’s Eden Park proved another burial ground for Australian rugby teams as the Blues put the Waratahs to the sword after a promising start from the visitors on Friday night.
NSW fans would have dreamed of getting a hold of an almost 40-year-old trans-Tasman hoodoo after a third-minute attempt to lock Ned Hanigan that gave the Waratahs a dream 7-0 start.
Hooper was injured as the Waratahs stoically defended their tryline in the shadows of half-time in their Super Rugby quarter-final against the Blues
Hooper then marched off the field for an HIA believing the umpire had also ordered him after receiving a blow to the head
Officials had to grab the Wallabies skipper and tell him no HIA was needed and he could return to the action
But the Blues rallied on 38 consecutive points to hold the record of no New Zealand team losing a Super Rugby final match on home turf to Australian opposition since the competition began in 1996.
The extensive loss also ended Hooper’s decorated Waratahs career.
With inspirational halfback Jake Gordon out brutally injured for the first time all season, Hooper was handed the captain’s armband in what proved the champion flanker’s 142nd and final game in the sky blue jersey.
With the Waratahs trailing 17-7 late in the first half and defending their own line, Hooper was spat out of the back of a ruck in obvious pain.
He had collided with the Blues pack in a clumsy fashion, sustaining a headbutt and a shoulder stab at the same time.
It was then that players, umpires and commentators were left in amazement as the Wallabies skipper simply marched off the field.
It was later revealed that Hooper thought he heard the referee march him for a head injury assessment due to a possible concussion.
Officials quickly rounded up Hooper and questioned why he was off the field, with the referee allowing him to return to the fight without an HIA.
While the moment didn’t affect the result, it was another black eye in a gloomy way for the Waratahs champion to turn around.
Former Wallabies star Morgan Turinui was disappointed with the way the Waratahs bowed out of the Super Rugby competition when it was Hooper’s last game
Although Hooper has retired from Super Rugby, he is expected to compete in a third World Cup in France for the Wallabies later this year.
Former Wallabies star Morgan Turinui said Hooper would now enter a grieving process after giving so much to his beloved Waratahs.
“The Waratahs have been so important in his life as a human. He got the goodbye, not the goodbye he wanted last week, and now it’s all over,” he said.
“Sometimes you sit there with the realization — I remember sitting there having a beer on the field at the football stadium with Chris Whittaker and Nathan Gray after his last one, just trying to have that moment until we break up again and not see each other again.
“There’s a huge emotional connection to Hoops and that sky blue sweater.”
While the result was shocking, Turinui said it was in line with their inconsistent performances throughout the season.
“It’s funny, it was almost a little recap for their season,” Turinui said.
“All their little inaccuracies throughout the year came home to sleep.
“That’s finals football and this was the game where it would be a positive season for the Waratahs to reach the semi-finals or finish sixth – not quite good enough for the high expectations we had of them.”