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Michael Hooper ruled out of Wallabies' tour finale against Wales
By AAP
The Wallabies' hopes of salvaging some spring-tour pride have suffered a hammer blow with inspirational captain Michael Hooper ruled out of Saturday's Test with Wales in Cardiff.
Hooper hobbled off during the second half of the weekend loss to England and scans have subsequently revealed a grade-two mid-foot sprain.
The champion flanker will stay with the squad this week before returning to Sydney with the rest of the Wallabies on Sunday.
Officials say there's been no timeline placed on Hooper's recovery given the Wales clash is Australia's last match of the year.
The Wallabies head to Millennium Stadium hoping to avoid a first winless spring tour of Europe since 1976.
A 15-13 defeat to Scotland preceded last Saturday's 32-15 loss to England at Twickenham.
Hooper's value to the Wallabies was underlined on Monday night when the back-rower was short-listed for the 2021 World Rugby player of the year award.
Teammate and centre Samu Kerevi was also nominated along with French halfback Antoine Dupont and English lock Maro Itoje.
No Australian has ever won the award despite 13 nominations over its 21-year history.
Winger Andrew Kellaway earned a nod in the breakthrough player of the year category after bagging eight tries in 11 Tests since making his debut against France in July.
And Dave Rennie has been nominated for the coach of the year after steering the Wallabies to a series win against France and back-to-back victories over the world champion Springboks during the Rugby Championship.
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Latest Comments
Always reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
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