Brumbies lock Tom Hooper believes he was always meant to make his starting debut this week - just ask his mum and her 'psychic-like' prediction.
Hooper comes into the starting side for Darcy Swain after the Wallaby suffered a head knock during their narrow win over the Waratahs.
After featuring in all five games of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, the highly-rated lock will get his chance to stake his claims against Wallaby Matt Philip and the Rebels on Friday at AAMI Park.
The 21-year-old will be supported by his family, who incredibly had already booked a trip to Victoria well in advance of the Rebels game or even knowing if he would feature, let alone start.
"My brother and I actually have a bit of a running joke that my mum's a bit of a witch. She actually planned a holiday to Melbourne for this exact date and has somehow landed on my starting debut,” Hooper told reporters with a laugh.
"We reckon there's a bit of hocus pocus going on there. They'll be there and it'll be awesome they can be there and share the experience with them.
“She'll probably be angry at me for saying that, but she knew it was coming.”
A leaner Hooper has impressed the coaching staff in Canberra, adding to stacked second-row stocks in the nation's capital.
Hooper is listed at 122kgs, however, admits he was closer to 125 with the Junior Wallaby ‘embarrassed’ with his size.
This led him to shed almost eight kilograms ahead of the season, which he credits for his development.
His secret? Staying off ACT stables Goodberry's frozen yogurt and Kingsley’s chips.
"I've gone down in weight but more lean muscle, I had to go down, I was on the chubby end of the lock spectrum," Hooper said.
“I’m down to 118kgs, I was on the heavy side at 125…I put down 122kg on my player profile because I was a bit embarrassed.
“…A lot of the credit goes to the strength and conditioning team. They are very diligent with what they do, I got a lot of one-on-one treatment when the Wallabies boys were away, they were catering meal plans for me.
"It came down to a bit of willpower...staying away from the local Goodberry’s (frozen yogurt) and Kingsley’s (chicken and chips). I think if you want something enough, you find ways to make it work. I wanted to work on myself physically and get this start and now it’s about putting a performance together.”
READ MORE:
TEAMS: All the team news for round four
RE-SIGN: Kellaway signs extension
NEW AGE: RA confirms innovative ball-tracking
After testing himself against the Kiwis last year, Hooper was looking forward to finally facing some Australian opposition.
With Swain and Cadeyrn Neville on the sidelines, the Vikings product is keen to impress and cement his spot in the squad.
"This is actually the first time I've actually come up against an Australian opposition so that’ll be a nice change to play against some of the guys (I played) in the 20s with rather than facing All Blacks," he added.
“I took a lot of confidence out of (trans-Tasman games) last year. Obviously I wasn't a world-beater by any standard, but I knew I could match it at that level.
“That gave me the opportunity to come away in pre-season, review what I needed to work on, make some physical adaptations to myself…I’m just going to take those learnings into this game and use those five games to hopefully put me in good stead.”
