Hooper is our Captain Indestructible

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WHEN he was 18 years old, Michael Hooper suffered an ankle injury that prevented him playing for the Australian under-20s side in Argentina.

He has never missed a minute of rugby through injury since.

Given the heavy involvement that typifies Hooper's performances in Super Rugby and at Test level, and the physical demands on his body, it is an extraordinary run.

At the risk of jinxing the 22-year-old, if anyone can defy the curse of the Wallabies captaincy it is Hooper.

James Horwill, David Pocock, Will Genia and now Stephen Moore have all succumbed to serious injuries while holding the title in the past two years.

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But Hooper has become Mr Indestructible since he became a regular starter for the Brumbies in 2011, and teammates marvel at his capacity to play to exhaustion in matches and then bounce into the next training session as though he's returned from holiday.

If the Wallabies are to finally mount successful Bledisloe Cup, Rugby Championship and World Cup campaigns, they need stability at the top.

It has been lacking in recent years due to the carousel of captains taking charge after the unfortunate series of injuries.

It would be a seriously dire situation for Australia if Hooper was to also suffer injury this year.

Hooper is younger and has only two more starts than new Wallabies vice-captain James Slipper, but has won the Wallabies' rookie of the year and John Eales medal in successive seasons since his debut.

Michael Hooper dives over to score a try during the first Test against France at Suncorp Stadium. Source: Getty Images

Slipper played his 50th Test last weekend and is smart and capable, but Test captaincy would lump enormous pressure and responsibility on a player who has only solidified his position as Australia's best loosehead in the past 12 months.

Slipper has enough on his plate trying to convince international referees that the Wallabies' scrum is not inferior in big games.

The team's other vice-captain, Adam Ashley-Cooper, is a brilliant communicator and has seen it all in his 92-Test career but there is a reason why wingers don't captain international teams.

Ashley-Cooper has been named by Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie as a back-three option and with Tevita Kuridrani continually improving at outside centre, it appears he will remain on the wing through to the World Cup.

So much weighs on the young shoulders of Hooper.

Hooper pops a pass to reserve scrumhalf Nick Phipps as he rides the tackle of winger Yoann Huget. Source: AP

But since he had one of those shoulders fixed back when he was in Year 12 at Chatswood's St Pius X, Hooper has handled that weight with unassuming ease.

Hooper could have opted against the surgery in 2009 — his only other serious injury — and played for the Schoolboys team before undergoing the operation at the end of the year.

But the Brumbies had already indicated they wanted him on board the next season, in a largely developing role.

Hooper calculated that he was better off taking the year off, and played no rugby in his final year of school.

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He had a two-day schoolies weekend before joining the Brumbies in pre-season training, learning from their greatest ever No.7, George Smith.

It is ironic that Hooper made his Super Rugby debut after Smith was forced to miss a game through injury. It was the first time Smith had missed a match in 60 starts, and he only missed two in his illustrious Brumbies career.

Perhaps Smith's resilience rubbed off on Hooper, who is now in his fourth year at the top level and despite clocking up some of the busiest statistics in that time, has been immune to injury.

McKenzie and the rest of the Australian rugby fraternity will be hoping that resistance continues, so Hooper's leadership skills can develop in line with his playing ability.

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