From learning the demands of wing to overcoming setbacks off the field, Ethan Hooker has taken his whirlwind rise to the Springboks in his stride. CLINTON VAN DER BERG reports.
Ethan Hooker’s rugby story has moved fast. Not that long ago he was a Sharks centre finding his feet, and on Saturday he was stepping into a Springbok wing jersey vacated by Kurt-Lee Arendse in a high-stakes Test against the All Blacks in Cape Town.
It’s a wild swing from where he started.
“There was actually a very good 12 at my school at the time,” Hooker recalls of his brief No 8 stint in Grade 11, before lockdown cut it short. “I always felt comfortable at 12, I feel like that’s my position.”
Fast forward, and wing has become his second home.
“I definitely used to have a preference, but I feel like I’ve found my feet a bit more at wing,” he says. “Now I actually have no preference, I’m just happy to be on the field.”
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That adaptability was tested hardest under the high ball, a skill he had to build from scratch.
“I used to hate it, obviously coming from centre to wing I’d never caught high balls before,” he admits. “But once I found my feet at wing and started to get good at the aerial skills, I started to love wing.”
Hooker’s journey has not come without setbacks. A brutal shoulder dislocation required surgery, and the road back was as much mental as physical.
“I remember the first thing I thought was, how many games am I going to miss,” he says of the injury he picked up in late 2024. “The moment you can get over that and just think, OK, let me fix myself, the better it is for you.”
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He returned in just 11 weeks, ahead of schedule, crediting the Sharks’ medical team.
“I wanted to come back stronger and with confidence again.”
Nothing, though, has tested him like losing his father Craig earlier this year.
“It’s definitely tough,” Hooker says quietly. “It’s hard seeing what’s happening back home and not being there with them.”
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He leans on a tight-knit family and an equally tight Bok environment.
“Being in an environment that I’m so close with everyone, and they understand and they back me, it makes it a lot easier.”
Now, having stepped up against the world’s best on one of rugby’s biggest stages, Hooker still pinches himself, even after 11 Test caps.
“I remember watching these guys play in the World Cup in Japan, and now all of a sudden I’m greeting them in the morning and playing with them in the afternoon,” he laughs. “It’s hard to believe sometimes.”
Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
The post Hooker relishing wild Bok ride appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
From learning the demands of wing to overcoming setbacks off the field, Ethan Hooker has taken his whirlwind rise to the Springboks in his stride.
The post Hooker relishing wild Bok ride appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
