Wallabies great Hooper suffers heavy defeat in comeback game

Former Australia skipper Michael Hooper's much-anticipated return to 15-a-side rugby after 18 months away fell flat when his Japanese team Toyota Verblitz were thrashed 63-21 on Saturday.

The 33-year-old picked up a yellow card midway through the second half as Toyota suffered a mauling by a Kobe Steelers side coached by former Wallabies boss Dave Rennie.

Hooper joined Toyota in January for the rest of the 2024-25 season following a call from head coach Steve Hansen, formerly in charge of the All Blacks.

He was named in the starting lineup as Toyota faced Kobe in Osaka, having picked up just one win and one draw from their previous eight games.

Toyota conceded six first-half tries and went into the break 42-7 behind.

Hooper, who captained the Wallabies a record 69 times, was sin-binned in the 59th minute with his team 61-14 down.

Hooper played the last of his 125 tests in 2023 before being unceremoniously axed by then-coach Eddie Jones ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

He turned to Rugby Sevens but called time on his playing career in June last year after missing out on selection for the Paris Olympics, working as a commentator since.

He played for Toyota in 2021 and was recruited for a second stint when South African Pieter-Steph du Toit was sidelined by injury.