'It's no surprise he's just broken the record': Michael Hooper lauds Aussie rugby's great unsung hero

It's been some week in the world of rugby with the Rugby World Cup 2027 draw taking place, Super Rugby Pacific trials wrapping up, Six Nations kicking off AND Wallabies mystery man Rocky Elsom being located in regional Queensland.

Not many would have had that in their pre-season predictions.

Anyway, 2026 well and truly gets underway on Saturday with the 16 best sevens teams in the world rolling into Western Australia.

Watch the 2025-26 World Sevens Series with every match streaming live and on demand on the home of rugby, Stan Sport

Yep, that's right team, we're headed back to Perth for stop four of the HSBC Sevens World Series where the mercury and action is set to soar.

Forecasts have the temperature well over 30 for the two day event at HBF Park where the Aussie women are aiming to defend their crown.

Bella Nasser's side currently sit second in the series behind New Zealand after their loss in last weekend's Singapore final.

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The men began the season in superb fashion with a podium finish in Dubai, however struggled the the next two events.

The reduced eight team format means there's zero wriggle room in terms of advancing to the knockout stages.

Led by Australia's most capped sevens player, Henry Hutchison, they'll be looking to replicate their 2024 run to the final.

There's an all-star cast in town with event sponsors HSBC, including Wallabies legend Nathan Sharpe, Olympic gold medallists Alicia Lucas, Chloe Dalton and Charlotte Caslick and Stan Sport commentator Michael Hooper.

Hoops is part of a select group to play both sevens and XVs for Australia.

Here are his thoughts on the shortened form.

SM: What makes sevens so hard?

MH: You'll be absolutely exhausted, then look up in defence and realise you're one-on-one with a guy who can run 100m in just over 10 seconds.

SM: It's set to be over 38 degrees in the middle this weekend. How do you compete in that heat?

MH: You've just got to lock in and try to ignore it. You can sometimes lose up to 3kg per game in those conditions. It's brutal.

SM: Which fan base will lead the charge in the west?

Definitely the Fijians. They make so much noise and they're mad for a Fiji flag wave. They're great.

Tell me about your old team mate Henry Hutchison, who just became the most capped Aussie sevens player of all-time.

He's just so athletic and resilient. It's no surprise he's just broken the record as the most capped because he's incredibly determined with everything he does on the field.

I'm assuming you're backing Australia to make the finals in both the men and women's competitions. But who do you think they'll play in the big one?

Well, NZ definitely in the women. On the men's side I think it'll be Fiji.

While Hoops will watch on from the relative comfort of the stands, I expect these two to shine for Australia across the next couple of days.

ADEN EKANAYAKE

Ekanake announced himself as a player with enormous potential in the corresponding tournament last year.

The young gun is a huge unit with a massive engine and butter soft hands.

He covers a ton of ground and knocks blokes over on arrival with and without the ball.

Aussie rugby should be locking him down long-term.

HEIDI DENNIS

Dennis has emerged as a real go-to under coach Tim Walsh.

The humble 20-year-old with a strong football background lets her actions do all the talking and she has become a menace on the edge for Australia.

She also brings a physicality needed to match NZ in the big games.

The HSBC Perth Sevens kicks off live and exclusive on Stan Sport at 1.25pm AEDT on Saturday.