‘Please don’t do that’: Michael Hooper tempts fate before Olympic semis

Former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper has been warned against “tempting fate” after predicting that Australia will take on arch-rivals New Zealand in the women’s gold medal match at the Paris Olympic Games.

Maddison Levi has been the star of the show for Australia so far with the 22-year-old setting a new women’s Olympic record with 11 tries in the tournament. The Aussies have thrived on the back of that with an unbeaten run through four matches.

The Aussies shot out of the blocks on the opening day of the women’s sevens with big wins over South Africa and Great Britain, before backing that up with a hard-fought victory against the fighting Irish at Stade de France.

Ireland qualified for the knockout rounds as one of the top two third-placed sides and as fate would have it, they were drawn against Australia again. This time it was much more one-sided with Levi scoring a first-half hat-trick in a 40-7 triumph.

If Australia beat Canada in their upcoming semi-final then they’ll secure a silver medal at least, but they’ll want gold after making the long trip around the world. If they win, they’ll take on either New Zealand or the USA in the gold medal match.

Four-time John Eales Medallist Michael Hooper believes Australia will likely take on their neighbouring nation from across the ditch in the big one. They were the top two sides on the SVNS Series and it would be a rather fitting final.

“Charlotte hasn’t had the time that sometimes she gets but the time that she has, she’s been super effective. She got a couple of big turnovers in this match,” the Wallabies legend said on Stan Sports’ Paris Preview.

“That was the difference from their earlier match to the quarter-final is their ability to stop the Irish in defence. They did that really well.

“We talked yesterday (about) what’s going to get them a gold medal, it’s that defensive side of play because we know that Maddi is going to get over the try line, but how can they stop the opposition coming and that’s going to be really important with what we think is definitely the Canadians in the semi-final and the Kiwis in the final.”

We’ve all heard of the term ‘commentators curse’ in sports.

Whether a rugby player misses a relatively simple shot at goal, a golfer fails to make a two-foot putt, or a cricketer is bowled in the nervous 90s, the ‘curse’ has claimed countless victims over the years.

It’s no secret that Australia and New Zealand have long been touted as the favourites to win the prestigious gold medal at the Paris Games, but sometimes it’s better not to jinx it as former Wallaby Morgan Turinui briefly suggested.

“I’m not like Hoops, I’m not tempting fate by calling that semi-final but. Please don’t do that,” Turinui asked of Hooper.

“I think that’s the one work on. They had missed a couple of first-up tackles and the scramble of Maddi Levi, the work rate off the ball, (and) the fact that they’re better than everyone else is okay until the final.

“That’s the work on for New Zealand. If you miss a half tackle, you make a passive tackle against New Zealand and they get a Michaela Blyde or a Portia Woodman-Wickliffe through a hole, no one’s stopping that.”

Canada are one of two women’s sides to have beaten both Australia and New Zealand on the 2023/24 SVNS Series, and after getting the better of France in an incredible upset, they’ll truly believe they can make more history at the Saint-Denis venue.

Charity Williams was among the try scorers in February when the Canadians upset Australia in the third-place playoff in Vancouver. Months later, Williams was on the scoresheet in Canada’s win over France and the speedster will want to keep that going with a medal on the line.

As for New Zealand, they’ll take on a USA side who have already looked significantly better than what they did in Singapore and Madrid. The Zach Test-coached side made the final in Hong Kong China but didn’t come close to that in the two events that followed.

With Iloner Maher winning fans both on and off the field, this USA side are preparing for their own date with destiny as they look to defy the odds by shocking New Zealand on rugby’s final day at the Olympic Games.