Rule farce: Suspended Michael Hooper free to face All Blacks after all

Michael Hooper. Photo / Getty

From facing a two-week suspension to facing the All Blacks - Michael Hooper and the Wallabies have exploited the "joke" rules that govern rugby's judiciary.

That's the view of former All Black Stu Wilson after Hooper was able to manipulate his striking ban to be available for next weekend's Rugby Championship decider in Sydney.

All Blacks fans would have been forgiven for counting on Hooper's absence from that match, given the Australia flanker was found guilty of striking Argentina first five Nicolas Sanchez in Mendoza.

No wonder Michael Hooper has been cited for this.. 👊🏽 https://t.co/d0NVl0e8mz

— Alex Cox (@alexandercox1) July 26, 2015

Even after judicial officer Nigel Hampton reduced the punishment to one week on account of Hooper's disciplinary record, it would have been fair to think the ban would see Hooper miss the All Blacks encounter.

But, instead, it will be served in club rugby, with Hooper sitting out Manly's quarter-final against Randwick tomorrow. That will allow the Wallabies to dodge the suspension and include one of their most influential players with the Rugby Championship on the line, a practice that Wilson believes must change.

"Good on the Aussies," he said. "You just have to point the finger at the International Rugby Board - the rules are a joke and they need to get it right.

"If I was in the position of Australia, losing a key player, then I'd be trying to do everything to get him back in. So you've got to look at who makes the rules."

They are the same rules previously exploited by players all over the globe, including Andrew Hore after the All Black copped a five-match suspension for flooring Welsh lock Bradley Davis with a swinging arm in 2012.

If rugby followed the lead of football, for example, the hefty suspension would have been required to be served while Hore was wearing the black jersey. Instead, the hooker missed a solitary test before sitting out three Super Rugby pre-season games and the Highlanders' opener.

"Why would you have a set of rules that countries can bend and use and get away with it," Wilson said. "Just say, 'look, mate, you probably think you're hard done by, but that's the rules. You get banned, you get dropped for a couple of weeks'.

"You shouldn't have rules to benefit the person being punished. They should have to take their punishment as is, stand down and suck on a lemon. If the rules are not 100 per cent tight, then every country's going to do that."

Australia were well within their rights and, as Wilson explained, the Wallabies were especially keen to find a legal loophole given Hooper's importance to their cause.

"They clearly think he's worthwhile to bend the rules so he can play. Where's the suspension? A club game? What a joke. But good luck to them.

"When you're smart and desperate, you do things like that. They need every player possible to take our boys on, and he's crucial. So they've just used the rules of international rugby. You'd need a year to read the rule book."