Eddie Jones suspends Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper from Australia’s Rugby World Cup squad in shock as new Wallabies coach makes cheeky phone call

Former captain Michael Hooper wasn’t the only veteran to miss Wallabies coach Eddie Jones’ new World Cup squad. a new captain.

The official unveiling of the 33-man team who will depart for France next week in search of ultimate glory revealed giant slot Skelton as the man chosen to fill the captaincy void left by the omission of Hooper and Allan Alaalatoa, who suffered an Achilles tendon injury in the first Bledisloe Cup clash with the All Blacks.

Jones said he supported the youth-filled side, with 25 attending their first World Cup and 22-year-old flyhalf Carter Gordon, who has played just four Tests, the only number 10 because they ‘deserved it’ and adamant the group could shock the world.

“I supported the young guys because they deserved it. Simple as that. I didn’t give it to them. They got it,” Jones said.

“It is exciting for me to go to work every day with these guys who are committed to improving, learning and getting better. They want to succeed, and they will succeed and that excitement radiates to everyone. We’re in a good place.

“The experts have written us off. No one believes we can, but we believe. The coaches believe, the players believe and that’s all that matters.’

Hooper’s time in Wallabies gold, which stretched to a mammoth 125 Tests, has come to an end after a lingering calf injury forced Jones to overlook the country’s longest-serving captain for a swan song at the World Cup, with James Slipper, who was recently up to his co-captain was appointed. as June, in the squad but removed as leader.

Instead, halfback Tate McDermott, who last week captained the Wallabies against the Kiwis in Dunedin, will become Skelton’s vice-captain.

The elimination of Hooper and Cooper was part of a veteran clean-out by Jones, who lost all four Tests to begin his second stint as leader of the national team but remained adamant that the Wallabies could shock the world and would win the World Cup.

“It’s a young team, it’s an exciting team and it will be a successful team. We are making good progress,” Jones said.

Our challenge is to keep improving, to get a little better every day in everything we do on and off the pitch. As I said since I took over, in Australian rugby we have the talent, but we don’t have the team yet. That’s still the case, but we’ll get there and I’m sure we’ll surprise a few people.

‘Rugby World Cup is a tournament, and tournament rugby is different from match rugby. Favorites are defeated. Disruptions happen. It’s all part of the challenge. All teams start from the same place. We all get the same chance. We are improving and we will continue to improve.

“Being part of a team that gets the chance to compete in a World Cup is a rare privilege. Look at the fun the Matildas have and the joy they create. Watch the country rally around them. This is what we want to do.

“We want to build that same kind of excitement and the same kind of expectation and the way we will do that is by giving everyone on the team the best they can every day. We can not wait.’

Utility back Reece Hodge, outside back Tom Wright and loose striker Jed Holloway, all of whom had played in one of four losing Tests as Jones experimented with old and new players, also failed to make the World Cup stop.

Of the players going to France, 16 are under the age of 25 and 25 will be appearing at a World Cup for the first time.

Jones also picked three unrestricted players, including 18-year-old NSW winger Max Jorgensen whose chances of joining the squad looked slim when he injured his knee in the penultimate round of the Super Rugby Pacific season. He hasn’t played since then.

The other unrestricted players on Jones’ squad include 27-year-old Western Force halfback Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, one of three No. 9s on the squad, and Brumbies promoter Blake Schoupp.

Rookie fly-half Gordon retains his place as first-choice No. 10 for Jones after 35-year-old Cooper, who returned to the Wallabies line-up under Dave Rennie last year and kept his place under Jones, was sidelined.

But raising the 31-year-old Skelton to captain could be seen as Jones’ biggest World Cup gamble.

The 140kg giant has played just 28 Tests since his debut in 2014 and has spent much of his career playing club rugby in Europe.

Still playing for French champions La Rochelle, Skelton was one of Jones’ ‘Giteau’s Law’ picks that will allow him to select players who do not play their club rugby in Australia.

NRL convert Suliasi Vunivalu has held on to his spot despite modest results in his two Tests, joining a strong wing contingent of Mark Nawaqanitawase and Marika Koroibete, with Andrew Kellaway likely to be first-choice fullback.

The team is in the Northern Territory for a four-day training camp and will return to Sydney next week before flying to Europe on Thursday.

Having failed to win in the run-up to the tournament, the Wallabies will have one last chance this Saturday with a friendly against France at the Stade de France.

The Wallabies, drawn in Pool C alongside Wales, Fiji, Georgia and Portugal, will face Georgia in Paris in their opening game on September 9.

Pete Samu is another backrower who provides much-needed flexibility in a major tournament, while Jed Holloway and Rob Leota do the same on the second row and number 6.

When asked if Hooper would be traveling to Darwin for the Wallabies’ pre-World Cup camp, Jones said, “You wait, just sit in your chair and wait.”

Two-time World Cup winner Tim Horan rated Hooper’s inclusion as a 50-50 call, as the striker had likely dropped to number 3 or even four in the pecking order, but said he still warranted a berth given his experience and skills.

Then there’s the captaincy, with halfback Tate McDermott the incumbent after co-captains Hooper (injured) and James Slipper (off the bench) failed to start against New Zealand on Saturday.

‘That is a good question. Very good question,” Jones said.

“We have to choose the selection first. And then we decide on the captaincy, but Tate is one of the candidates, a strong candidate.’

Samu Kerevi (hand) and Taniela Tupou (rib) will also come in under injury clouds, so will center Len Ikitau (shoulder).

But all three are expected to appear in Darwin before the squad’s official farewell in Sydney.

The Wallabies, who have sunk to No. 8 in the world, will play the hosts in a final World Cup match on August 28 (AEST) before their opener against Georgia on September 10.