Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has explained the surprise omissions of Wallabies legends Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper from his Rugby World Cup 2023 squad.
Since the Bledisloe Cup, Jones has left out a host of stalwarts that made up a key core of the Wallabies squad over the past half-decade.
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It started with Reece Hodge, Pete Samu and Tom Wright missing the two-Test series against the All Blacks.
However, the omission of Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper at Thursday's announcement sends a real message about the direction of the squad.
“It’s a really difficult decision,” Jones told reporters.
“We’ve gone down the line of we think young players are the players that can take Australian Rugby forward.”
Hooper’s status was always up in the air as a result of his calf.
He spoke about his ‘desperation’ to make the plane for France at the Waratahs end-of-season night, however, Jones has opted not to have the distraction of whether Australia’s most capped captain will be right for his third World Cup.
“He could be fit for the French (warm-up) game, we don’t know,” Jones said.
“I’ve made the decision this is the best 33 for the World Cup.”
Cooper meanwhile started as recently as last month’s Argentina Test, coming off the bench for both Bledisloe Tests.
It ensures Carter Gordon as the main flyhalf for the Rugby World Cup, with Waratahs utility Ben Donaldson rocketing into contention for the matchday 23 with no other flyhalf option.
“We’ve got for a younger guy in (Ben) Donaldson, we just feel this is our best option going forward,” Jones told Stan Sport.
“Quade’s come back from a serious Achilles tendon injury probably not as sharp as he’d like to be.”
It ensures this squad is the most inexperienced heading to a World Cup since 1991, with an average age of 26 and an average of 20 Tests per player.
