“There’s been a fairly big drop off in Australian rugby so we’ve got to try to find a way to lift it up.
“There’s been a long period now where they’ve been unsuccessful and that almost becomes the norm,so we’re having to change the mindset,we’re having to change training habits,we’re having to change the way the players think about the game.”
Rugby Australia is hoping for a crowd of 80,000-plus at the MCG,which would represent the biggest attendance for a Bledisloe Cup game since 2009,when 80,228 watched New Zealand pip the Wallabies 19-18 at Accor Stadium. The last time the Wallabies drew over 80,000 fans was the third Test against the British and Irish Lions at the same Homebush venue,with 83,702.
Michael Hooper missed the Test against Argentina with a calf injury.Credit:Getty
Whether Hooper gets to play his last Test on home soil at the MCG remains to be seen.
Hooperpicked up a calf injury ahead of Australia’s defeat to Argentina in Sydney and Jones said on Saturday that they will take a cautious approach to the Wallabies co-captain playing. He will need to train fully on Monday and Tuesday to be considered.
If Hooper misses the MCG clash,it is highly likely he has played his last Test on Australian soil,after he revealedhe is not playing Super Rugby next year. The 31-year is weighing up retirement,playing overseas or playing sevens,and unless Hooper is called upon as a Giteau Law selection in coming years,his final Test on home soil will go down as the Wallabies’ third Test loss to England at the SCG in 2022.
MIchael Hooper is considering a stint in sevens in 2024.Credit:Steven Siewert
Hooper didn’t play in the Rugby Championship last year after taking a break for mental health reasons.
Waugh said there would be an acknowledgment of Hooper’s “enormous contribution to Australian rugby” at the MCG,whether he pays or not.
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“Then it is around his aspirations. For him to potentially go to an Olympics,after what he’s done in the 15-a-side game,it would be a nice way for him to finish up with Australian rugby,so we are very open to that conversation,” Waugh said.
“We want to ensure we will support in him in his transition away from 15-a-side,if that what he chooses,be it into retirement or into his aspiration to go to an Olympics,we are very supportive.
“Those conversations are imminent but right now,it is about how do we give him the best possible opportunity to get him back out on the field and driving for success in France.
“We will meet with Hoops and his management and have those conversations in due course.”