Wallabies star Michael Hooper reveals the reasons for his mental health break from Australian rugby union

Former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper has finally returned to the squad for the spring tour after a lengthy mental health break, revealing the “roller coaster” he endured during his storied 121-Test career has taken its toll.

The 30-year-old made his professional rugby debut more than 12 years ago, so it was no surprise that he announced in August that he was stepping down from the Australian side to take a mental health break.

He is the longest serving in Australia Wallabies captain and only four-time player of the year, but after a two-match layoff he finally returned to the squad for the five-Test spring tour.

Speaking for the first time since his sudden exit from the Wallabies camp ahead of the Australian Championships Opening the Rugby Championship match against the Pumas at the start of August, Hooper said he had sought “all kinds of” help from family, friends, sports therapists and professional counsellors.

But for a man renowned for his incredible toughness, durability and no-nonsense manner, asking for help was as difficult as putting his body in the path of a maddened All Black.

“As a young man, I considered asking for help as a bit of a weakness. You want to feel like you’ve got it going and I certainly haven’t,” Hooper said ahead of the Wallabies’ opening spring tour test against Scotland on Saturday.

The 30-year-old singled out his wife Kate for her unwavering support, admitting he struggled to balance the demands of being a new father with life as a traveling rugby star.

Michael Hooper, pictured with current wife Kate Hooper, admitted his life has changed a lot with age

“I’ve been playing this game for a long time, this year I’ve had a lot of changes in my life and I’ve had a lot of things going through my head related to Argentina, and Argentina wasn’t the place where I needed to deal with those things, – he said.

“I wanted to be with my family. I wanted to be in a place where I could devote time to the things I needed to invest in.

“That doesn’t mean I’m sitting here completely healed. This is not true at all. I needed to be somewhere else at that moment. It was not Argentina.

“I know it’s pretty vague, but yeah, I’m still figuring it out. It wasn’t that long ago,” Hooper said.

Telling Wallabies coach Dave Rennie he wanted to leave was one of the hardest conversations Hooper says he’s ever had, but a big part of giving up the game is because he’s clearly a man who never can give nothing less than 110 percent every time he steps on the field.

“I have high expectations for myself and to be out of the game is definitely something I couldn’t have imagined. Of course it was difficult,” he said of his conversation with Rennie to tell him about his departure.

“It happened out of the blue… the beautiful thing about rugby and the hardest thing about all of sport is that there’s always the next goal so you can move on and move on quickly.

“It was probably exacerbated by being overseas away from home, but certainly where I’m at, in my career and things like that, you start to look at post-rugby. I have a family now.

“So there’s a lot (more) elements now than being a 22-year-old and pretty much taking care of yourself, and I think that’s played a part,” Hooper said.

Michael Hooper, pictured at the 2019 Rugby Australia Awards with wife Kate, had to take a break from rugby to be with his family

The 64-Test Wallabies captain said he is 100 per cent behind new captain James Sleeper.

He has no plans, at least for now, to regain the captaincy while he is back in Europe for the spring tour.

Hooper has also ruled out next year’s World Cup – which would have been his third – and has been enjoying rugby again.

“I am delighted. I’m really excited to be back – at this stage. I’m also realistic, knowing that it didn’t quite work last time I was here, he said.

“So I’m back in this position because I want to be here. I have a lot of support and I understand that there will be very good days and days when the realities of travel and rugby and so on will be difficult.

“But I think that’s part of the whole journey. “Part of what we’re doing is a whole roller coaster,” Hooper said.

A rejuvenated Michael Hooper is now set to return to the field for the Wallabies after a difficult spell

After a bitterly disappointing end to the Rugby Championship which included a controversial defeat in the opening match of the Bledisle Cup; Rennie will be looking to strengthen his favorite squad and work on combinations ahead of the World Cup.

Saturday’s match against the ever-improving Scots will give the Wallabies a good gauge of which pairings need improvement ahead of a tough test against the world no. 2 France November 6.