Confusion reigns in Super Rugby finals as Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper takes himself off for HIA
Daily Mail Champion Wallabies captain Michael Hooper has had insult added to injury in a bizarre and cruel finish to his glittering Super Rugby career last night.
The Waratahs will be left regretting sending out Hooper in such lame fashion after the Blues ended NSW's season with a clinical 41-12 victory in the opening Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final of 2023.
That included a moment of confusion where Hooper - one of Australia's most-capped players of all time - produced a clanger for the ages, taking himself off for a HIA because he thought the referee had ordered him from the field.
Auckland's Eden Park once again proved a burial ground for Australian rugby teams as the Blues put the Waratahs to the sword after a promising start from the visitors on Friday night.
NSW fans would have been dreaming of busting a near-40-year trans-Tasman hoodoo after a third-minute try to lock Ned Hanigan gave the Waratahs a dream 7-0 start.
But the Blues piled on 38 straight points to preserve the record of no New Zealand team losing a Super Rugby finals match on home turf to Australian opposition since the competition began in 1996.
