Wallabies captain Michael Hooper is wary of a French ambush as they prepare to leave quarantine ahead of the first Test, looking to take the first steps in creating a new legacy.
The French will be released from the 14-day hotel isolation tonight, set to make the trip straight up to Brisbane.
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Whilst the heavy restrictions around the team have provided a less than ideal preparation, Hooper is well-aware of the benefits it can provide.
The Wallabies underwent a similar situation ahead of the first Bledisloe last October, coming with the width of a post from causing the upset.
He believes it will allow the inexperienced French to galvanise ahead of the three-Test series, expecting them to come out firing on Wednesday.
“It’s a pretty good camp environment (going into) quarantine,” Hooper said on Tuesday.
“You are on top of each other, have no external distractions. It’s tricky and somethings that’s unusual since you can't go out but in saying that, it can build some good bonds and forces guys to spend time within the team.
“They are going to be coming out firing. We know that they have been nothing but quality in the Six Nations competition up there and some of the firepower they have across the park.
“It’s going to be a great series and a challenging one in the sense that it will be three games in 11 days.”
The Wallabies are set to welcome four new faces into the side as the side continues his regeneration.
Hooper was quick to recognise their strengths along with stressing the importance of the work the senior players have done to embrace what they can bring to a squad.
“There has been changes in here and a real want to work together for each of our strengths to come out and how they can be influenced on the team,” Hooper said.
“I think a lot of our leaders have a good understanding of themselves in order to best deliver what they can to the team. We have some great guys who can speak well in front of the group, led by action and can control a game really well.
“It’s about bringing that to light within the group in order for the younger guys to blossom into their Wallaby career. It’s definitely a shared unit here.”
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In his media calls since returning from Japan, Hooper has regularly pondered what mark himself and the team will leave on Australian Rugby.
This has seemed to be amplified by the presence of the 2023 World Cup, along with the '25 Lions Tour and a potential home World Cup in 2027.
Whilst Hooper would be 36 and in the twilight/end of his career by the time the latter rolls around, he was keen to start their legacy off with a series win over the French.
“Every game is important and we’re treating it as that, there are trophies on the line, and they a top European team at the moment, plenty of firepower,” he added.
“We’ve got a unique experience of playing three games in 11 days and we want to win that. We’ve put out that word and players have been talking about winning and that’s what we want to do in here…We don’t want to shy away from talking like that.
“We spoke about what mark we want to leave on Australian Rugby and future generations of players, the guys who are 13 or 14, we’d love to see them seeing a winning team in this series."
