As he prepares to play his 100th Super Rugby game, NSW Waratahs captain Michael Hooper has made the startling admission he felt out of his depth for quite a while after entering that level.
Hooper made his Super debut for the Brumbies in 2010 and played 31 games in three seasons for the Canberra-based franchise before returning home to Sydney where he has added 68 caps for the Waratahs, playing in their 2014 title-winning team and becoming one of the stars of Australian rugby.
A seemingly indefatigable flanker who rarely gets substituted, 25-year-old Hooper has captained the Waratahs and Wallabies and won a stack of individual awards.
He recalled scoring a try in his first Super game against the Chiefs, but revealed it took him some time to feel comfortable at that level.
'I did feel out of my depth for quite a while," Hooper said in the lead-up to his landmark game on Saturday against the Brumbies in Sydney.
"It's a tough competition,it's fast, it's physical, and it's a great brand of rugby.
"It seems like an absolute age ago, a lot of scars and cuts less, but still loving it all the same."
And Hooper's coaches love him.
"He's a guy that you want players to try and play like," Waratahs defence coach Nathan Grey said.
"if you could jump into that magic gene pool and clone that bloke you'd have 15 Michael Hoopers out there.
"He's a really good athlete, very durable and he's a guy who consistently performs at a high level."
Grey said Hooper, who became the Waratahs full-time captain last year, had gone from strength to strength as a leader.
"He'd be the first to admit he's still learning as a captain in terms of his management of of his players and also his relationship with the referees," Grey said.
"He's a leader that leads by example and he's getting that balance right now, between leading by example and also encouraging the other senior players in the team to follow his lead.".
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