ACT Brumbies lock Tom Hooper eager to put demons to bed in Super Rugby semi-final

Having suffered a rare foot injury during a pre-season trial, the youngster's surgeon told him he was facing four months on the sidelines.

It was a cruel blow for the 22-year-old who had spent the off-season recovering from a shoulder injury suffered in last year's semi-final loss to the Auckland Blues.

The shoulder injury came at the back end of a breakout year for Hooper, the youngster emerging as a potential Wallabies bolter for the England Test series.

Instead, he was left to lament what could have been, desperate to make amends for the disappointment at Eden Park.

On Saturday night he gets that chance, the Brumbies to play the Waikato Chiefs in a Super Rugby semi-final.

"That puts a fire in your belly," Hooper said. "We know we did enough to be in a position to win that game, but we know we've got to do more against the Chiefs [on Saturday].

"We look back on that semi-final as one that hurts, but we've moved on. A lot of water under the bridge since then, we're all eyes on Hamilton this week."

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Hooper may have been told his season was over, but the lock wasn't willing to give up that easily.

So he hit the gym and embarked on a gruelling rehab regime, fuelled by a desire to return in time for the Brumbies push to the finals.

Alongside Hooper for the process was Harry Vella. The prop tore his ACL in an end-of-season trial against the Waratahs last year and has watched the team's campaign from the sidelines.

While Vella was never a chance of making a comeback, Hooper was and the prop pushed his teammate to tick every box and make a return this season.

The second rower worked hard to achieve his goal and eventually returned in round 11. Now, he's shaping as a key figure in Saturday's semi-final against the Waikato Chiefs, where the youngster gets a chance to make amends for last year's disappointment.

"My surgeon originally told me it was going to be four months, so I thought I was going to miss the whole season," Hooper said. "I've got my physio team and everyone here that worked with me. Harry Vella was my gym buddy.

"When the hardest worker in your team is a guy who's been in rehab working on his ACL the whole year, that's pretty special.

"[Harry] got me back early and I'm lucky enough to be in a position to get selected this week."

It hasn't taken long for Hooper to find his feet this season and talk of a Wallabies call up has returned.

New coach Eddie Jones has placed a premium on performances against New Zealand sides and the lock could play his way into the Australian squad with a big game on Saturday night.

It's a situation he's well aware of, but Hooper is determined to ensure Wallabies selection does not become a distraction this week.

"It's a big opportunity but it's nothing I'm really thinking about to be honest," he said. "I'm definitely focusing on Brumbies and putting in a performance for my team and that's all we all are doing.

"I don't even know when the [Wallabies] team gets selected. We're just making sure we play well for our team and making sure we get the chocolates for our Canberra community."

Hooper isn't the only emerging Brumby playing for a World Cup berth, with the likes of Blake Schoupp, Rhys van Nek and Ryan Lonergan on Jones' radar.

While Wallabies selection sits in the back of their minds, assistant coach Rod Seib has been impressed with the way all players have put the team first.

"They're a very mature group," Seib said. "They're grounded, there's no rock stars and they don't tend to get carried away with things. It's a World Cup year, a Wallabies team is going to get picked and the more successful we are, then the likelihood of getting more guys through is there.

"I haven't really heard any chat at all around Wallaby selection. It's really focused on us making sure we understand our detail, people understand their role within the team and fulfil it during the week and then bring it out on the weekend."

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