Upbeat Hooper dares to dream

Horror run won’t dampen Wallabies’ team spirit for Bledisloe Cup

WHAT’S WRONG WITH A DREAM? WHAT’S WRONG WITH A GOAL THAT EVERYONE HERE WANTS TO ACHIEVE? THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT MICHAEL HOOPER

MICHAEL Hooper says the Wallabies won’t let the burden of recent history stop them from dreaming about winning the Bledisloe Cup.

The Wallabies go into the first Bledisloe Cup tonight as the biggest outsiders against New Zealand ever on home soil after a horrid year of Super Rugby results, where Aussie teams couldn’t beat a Kiwi team once in 26 games.

The world No.1 All Blacks thrashed the Aussies by 34 points in the corresponding game last year and New Zealand have won the Bledisloe Cup for 14 straight years.

It has all added up to the most pessimistic pre-Bledisloe mood among Australian rugby fans for many years. But that negativity isn’t shared by the Wallabies’ players.

After the captain’s run, new Wallabies captain Michael Hooper was asked if he still dared to dream about winning the Bledisloe Cup, given it hasn’t been in Australian hands since 2002.

“This group hasn’t been through the 10 or 12 or however many years. This group has come together this year,” Hooper said.

“What’s wrong with a dream? What’s wrong with a goal that everyone here wants to achieve? There’s nothing wrong with it. That’s what we should be aspiring to, and wanting. Everyone in our change room has that mentality.”

Australian rugby’s World Cup high was deflated by a series loss to England last year in June, but the heavy 42-8 defeat to New Zealand in Sydney was an extremely damaging blow for the entire code.

Hooper said drawing on that pain and embarrassment for motivation wasn’t on the agenda tonight.

“It’s a pretty different squad,” Hooper said.

“You can channel Super Rugby, you can channel us (last year), you can channel whatever you want. We are about building what we have started out in June this year. It’s working hard together, building the bonds and building the trust and feeling confident in how we play the game.”

The “silver lining” to no Australian teams progressing through to the Super Rugby semi-finals was the Wallabies’ gathering early in camps at the start of July, where they worked on fitness and teams bonds.

Hooper said the camaraderie, forged in hard work, would be a key asset for the Australians.

The Wallabies won’t be relying on the All Blacks being distracted by off-field drama.

“None of that stuff. We have been focused on what we need to do. We respect the opposition and we respect New Zealand and that respect means focusing on what we need to do,” Hooper said.