Latest news with #TomHooper
Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Don't drop it': Gleeson silences inner critic with Lions dream in sight
'I remember the second Reds game this year, I dropped a few balls and after the game, I saw my parents, my head was down, I was just in the dumps, worried about the next game, what's going to happen, and then my Mum (Elizabeth) helped me out with it, like mistakes are going to happen...' Gleeson's chosen position is a tough one for a man who doesn't relish attention. The trademark red headgear is also thanks to his Mum, who initially chose it to try and spot her son on Manly Oval alongside his brother Ben, now a regular at the Marlins. The No.8 is often the physical focal point of the team, used to provide inspiration when needed when defences are at their toughest. Gleeson has now established himself as one of the premier back rowers in Super Rugby, standing in contrast with the young man from Dee Why who arrived at the Waratahs in 2022. 'My first year of debuting for the Tahs, I was shitting myself on the bench. I was scared. I didn't want to play,' Gleeson said. 'But I reckon, once you're in the game, like physically in the game, and you make your first carry, everything else just goes out the window. 'If I'm looking at the crowd, my mind just wanders. Especially in the Wallabies it's daunting because you can't be perfect, but the coaches expect you to be perfect. So every little thing you have to think of, it's doing your job right.' At 23-years-old Gleeson was faced with a crucial decision early in his career at the start of this year, to stay or go. He had interest from Northampton and Exeter in England and Montpellier. Ultimately, he decided that a move to France would not only push him out of comfort zone off the field, he would return a far better rugby player to Australia. 'I thought I'd probably do it (move) later in my career. But I just feel like mentally and physically, I just feel a bit stagnant the last four years. I've sort of been in the same position,' Gleeson said. 'So I just thought, Top 14 is one of the biggest rugby competitions and as a player I need to adapt, I just want to learn a few new things as well. 'Obviously, money comes into play as well. I'm definitely going to come back, but I just feel like it's a good time in my career to do that (move).' Gleeson hasn't been in regular contact with Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt since the start of the year when he was uninvited from training camp. Gleeson was told he would still be considered for selection if he played well enough, and he is not alone. Brumbies pair Noah Lolesio and Tom Hooper are also overseas-bound, but likely to be in the squad. 'It would mean everything (to get picked),' Gleeson said. 'It's either the Lions or the World Cup I think they're one of the biggest things in our sport, it would be a dream, if I don't play, I'll still come support the boys, I'll still try and either watch them on TV or come and see them. Loading 'It's hard because there are so many good performers this year, especially in the back row Carlo (Tizzano), Tom Hooper who's also leaving is killing it. 'I think it just depends on what Joe and the coaching group wants, I tried to give everything I could this year, especially to the Tahs. 'I just wanted to leave something there and leave it all on the field for the boys. Obviously I feel sad that I'm leaving, I just wanted to put my body on the line for this year and leave a legacy.'
The Age
7 hours ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘Don't drop it': Gleeson silences inner critic with Lions dream in sight
'I remember the second Reds game this year, I dropped a few balls and after the game, I saw my parents, my head was down, I was just in the dumps, worried about the next game, what's going to happen, and then my Mum (Elizabeth) helped me out with it, like mistakes are going to happen...' Gleeson's chosen position is a tough one for a man who doesn't relish attention. The trademark red headgear is also thanks to his Mum, who initially chose it to try and spot her son on Manly Oval alongside his brother Ben, now a regular at the Marlins. The No.8 is often the physical focal point of the team, used to provide inspiration when needed when defences are at their toughest. Gleeson has now established himself as one of the premier back rowers in Super Rugby, standing in contrast with the young man from Dee Why who arrived at the Waratahs in 2022. 'My first year of debuting for the Tahs, I was shitting myself on the bench. I was scared. I didn't want to play,' Gleeson said. 'But I reckon, once you're in the game, like physically in the game, and you make your first carry, everything else just goes out the window. 'If I'm looking at the crowd, my mind just wanders. Especially in the Wallabies it's daunting because you can't be perfect, but the coaches expect you to be perfect. So every little thing you have to think of, it's doing your job right.' At 23-years-old Gleeson was faced with a crucial decision early in his career at the start of this year, to stay or go. He had interest from Northampton and Exeter in England and Montpellier. Ultimately, he decided that a move to France would not only push him out of comfort zone off the field, he would return a far better rugby player to Australia. 'I thought I'd probably do it (move) later in my career. But I just feel like mentally and physically, I just feel a bit stagnant the last four years. I've sort of been in the same position,' Gleeson said. 'So I just thought, Top 14 is one of the biggest rugby competitions and as a player I need to adapt, I just want to learn a few new things as well. 'Obviously, money comes into play as well. I'm definitely going to come back, but I just feel like it's a good time in my career to do that (move).' Gleeson hasn't been in regular contact with Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt since the start of the year when he was uninvited from training camp. Gleeson was told he would still be considered for selection if he played well enough, and he is not alone. Brumbies pair Noah Lolesio and Tom Hooper are also overseas-bound, but likely to be in the squad. 'It would mean everything (to get picked),' Gleeson said. 'It's either the Lions or the World Cup I think they're one of the biggest things in our sport, it would be a dream, if I don't play, I'll still come support the boys, I'll still try and either watch them on TV or come and see them. Loading 'It's hard because there are so many good performers this year, especially in the back row Carlo (Tizzano), Tom Hooper who's also leaving is killing it. 'I think it just depends on what Joe and the coaching group wants, I tried to give everything I could this year, especially to the Tahs. 'I just wanted to leave something there and leave it all on the field for the boys. Obviously I feel sad that I'm leaving, I just wanted to put my body on the line for this year and leave a legacy.'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Brumbies playing ‘two grand finals' to avoid ugly Super Rugby history
The Brumbies are looking to avoid an unwanted piece of history this weekend, as the first team in Super Rugby history to lose four successive semi-finals. The Canberra side have been knocked out at the final four stage the previous three seasons, and no side has failed on four consecutive occasions. So they're treating Saturday's semi against the Chiefs in Hamilton as the first of two grand finals. 'We're pouring absolutely everything into this one because we know we need to, because at the end of the day we fell short the last three years,' Brumbies lock Tom Hooper said. 'I think you take a lot of learnings out of the last three years, it's all been building to a head for a long time now. 'Obviously we've lost against the Chiefs earlier in the year (49-34 in Hamilton) and we took a lot of stuff out of that game that we needed to improve on, and we're looking to make sure we're putting that into practice this weekend. That game was, if you just look at the score, probably not really reflective of how tight that one was. 'For me, the grand final is this weekend. We've got two grand finals left and we're going to pour absolutely everything into it.' There is added incentive for Hooper to finish with silverware, given he is departing the Brumbies to join English club Exeter alongside teammate Len Ikitau. 'That's why I've been flogging myself on the weekend, I've been draining myself every week,' Hooper said. 'It's like driving down a highway. You don't need a full tank to make it to the end of the road. So the end of the road's coming up and I've filled up my tank this week, but I'm about to empty it again and I'll do it again next week. 'After that I'll just be filling it up with a couple of pina coladas somewhere, just relaxing after the season with the trophy in my hand.' While there has been criticism of the finals format given the Chiefs lost to the Blues last week and the Brumbies beat the Hurricanes, but the Chiefs get to host the semi-final given they finished first, Hooper dismissed any notion it is unfair. 'At the end of the day, we knew throughout the course of the season we needed to finish in those top two positions for that very reason,' Hooper said. 'Obviously, we fell short against the Crusaders. That means we have to go across the ditch and beat them on their home soil, which is nice. 'The Chiefs deserve it because they reaped the rewards of their hard work throughout the season. 'There's only 11 teams in this competition and they've obviously been the best team throughout the majority of the year. 'Even though they didn't have one of their better nights on the weekend against the Blues, they still deserve a home semi-final in my eyes because we should have done better throughout the season and we dropped a few games that we shouldn't have.'
West Australian
2 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Brumbies better prepared for Super title push: Hooper
Tom Hooper says the ACT Brumbies' push for the Super Rugby Pacific title has been years in the making and the team feels "far more prepared" than in previous semi-finals. The Brumbies will tackle the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday looking to end an Australian team hoodoo in New Zealand, where no side has ever won a Super knock-out game. The ACT side has now made the semis the last four seasons, since the competition added the Pacific element, but haven't been able to crack a place in the final and haven't won the title since 2004. Hooper, who has starred at both lock and blindside flanker, said the current crop of Brumbies faced this challenge with confidence after their seasons together. "It's all been building to a head for a long time now so we're very keen to take it one step further, take the learnings from the last three years and then take the learnings from games we've played this year," the 24-year-old said. "We're far more prepared, this group's been together for a long time and having the nucleus together for a fair chunk of this season has been really beneficial." The teams met in round three at FMG Stadium Waikato with the home side triumphant 49-34, however both scored six tries with the Chiefs' goal-kicking the difference. The Brumbies only trailed by five points before Anton Lienert-Brown locked down the result with a converted try in the 79th minute. The visitors were missing first-choice players Hooper, Noah Lolesio, Rob Valetini, Tuaina Taii Tualima and David Feliua from that starting line-up. The Brumbies eliminated the Hurricanes to advance to the final four, with four of their five tries scored by their front-row, backing themselves to score each time they entered the 22m zone. "It's a huge advantage and we really pride ourselves on our 'A-zone' and I think we 100 per cent rate on the weekend and if we can do that against the Chiefs, it would be really great," Hooper said. "If I look back two years (2023 semi-final against the Chiefs), our conversion rate in A-zone was what lost us that game, ultimately." But Hooper said they weren't "one-trick ponies". "At the moment, we've been doing really well in our pick and go, but that doesn't mean we can't swing it out wide to Corey Toole and he can gas one over. "Any team that's going to win this competition has to have a few different weapons to their arsenal and we're definitely not a one-trick pony. "But that trick at the moment is working very well for us ... we'll keep going back to it, but we've got a few different weapons up our sleeve." Hooper is shifting his career to the UK, but he said he wasn't thinking this could be his last match in Brumbies colours. "We've got two grand finals left and we're going to pour absolutely everything into it as we fell short the last three years because we didn't," he said. "We're pouring everything into this one and then we'll pour everything into the next one and then after that we'll pour beers into the cup and drink out of it."
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Brumbies better prepared for Super title push: Hooper
Tom Hooper says the ACT Brumbies' push for the Super Rugby Pacific title has been years in the making and the team feels "far more prepared" than in previous semi-finals. The Brumbies will tackle the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday looking to end an Australian team hoodoo in New Zealand, where no side has ever won a Super knock-out game. The ACT side has now made the semis the last four seasons, since the competition added the Pacific element, but haven't been able to crack a place in the final and haven't won the title since 2004. Hooper, who has starred at both lock and blindside flanker, said the current crop of Brumbies faced this challenge with confidence after their seasons together. "It's all been building to a head for a long time now so we're very keen to take it one step further, take the learnings from the last three years and then take the learnings from games we've played this year," the 24-year-old said. "We're far more prepared, this group's been together for a long time and having the nucleus together for a fair chunk of this season has been really beneficial." The teams met in round three at FMG Stadium Waikato with the home side triumphant 49-34, however both scored six tries with the Chiefs' goal-kicking the difference. The Brumbies only trailed by five points before Anton Lienert-Brown locked down the result with a converted try in the 79th minute. The visitors were missing first-choice players Hooper, Noah Lolesio, Rob Valetini, Tuaina Taii Tualima and David Feliua from that starting line-up. The Brumbies eliminated the Hurricanes to advance to the final four, with four of their five tries scored by their front-row, backing themselves to score each time they entered the 22m zone. "It's a huge advantage and we really pride ourselves on our 'A-zone' and I think we 100 per cent rate on the weekend and if we can do that against the Chiefs, it would be really great," Hooper said. "If I look back two years (2023 semi-final against the Chiefs), our conversion rate in A-zone was what lost us that game, ultimately." But Hooper said they weren't "one-trick ponies". "At the moment, we've been doing really well in our pick and go, but that doesn't mean we can't swing it out wide to Corey Toole and he can gas one over. "Any team that's going to win this competition has to have a few different weapons to their arsenal and we're definitely not a one-trick pony. "But that trick at the moment is working very well for us ... we'll keep going back to it, but we've got a few different weapons up our sleeve." Hooper is shifting his career to the UK, but he said he wasn't thinking this could be his last match in Brumbies colours. "We've got two grand finals left and we're going to pour absolutely everything into it as we fell short the last three years because we didn't," he said. "We're pouring everything into this one and then we'll pour everything into the next one and then after that we'll pour beers into the cup and drink out of it."
