Former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper made his debut for the Australia s side against Fiji at the Hong Kong tournament on Friday.
Hooper, who has been roped in by the Australian 7s side for the Olympics in France, came off the bench with four minutes to play in the second spell.
“I was bloody nervous. Like, really nervous. On the sidelines, it just felt completely new. The whole draw out of the day, and the fans already going nuts,” Hooper said.
An introduction against traditional sevens kings Fiji was “pretty daunting” according to the 32-year-old.
“Fiji give you a scrap, they flood those offload channels, and are very good around there. Our starters did a great job of shutting that down, I just had to finish it off for us.”
“I have not started on the bench much, so to come on with the game in the balance was tough stuff.”
Hooper is expected to have a strong impact off the bench for the Aussies in Hong Kong.
“I have a wealth of games under my belt, so I am trying to lean into that, but I am completely new at this,” he said.
“I am trying to find out where I can impact the game, and will take it step by step.”
