Former Saint Stanislaus' College student Hooper was recently named in the Junior Wallabies squad, putting him in line for a potential appearance at this year's World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Italy and Oceania Rugby Under 20 Championship.

The Brumbies Academy player has spent the past week at a training camp in Canberra along with 53 other players, all looking to stake their claim on one of the final places in the national under 20s side.

Hooper and other members from the New Zealand tour will no doubt garner plenty of attention from selectors following their breakthrough 18-14 win over the Kiwis in October, a win which speaks volumes for the quality of players coming through the system.

"It's awesome. It's been a goal of mine for a while now so it's great to tick that one off and keep moving forward," he said.

"That New Zealand tour made me feel a lot more comfortable about playing at that level and drove that ambition for me to make this team. I'm in the squad now but there's still a lot of ambition to make that final team that goes to Italy."

The second rower is looking to follow in the footsteps of another Stannies graduate, Bo Abra, in making the final under 20s team.

Abra and the Australian side came agonisingly close to ending the Wallabies' title drought when they went down 24-23 to France in the final of last year's championships at Argentina.

Following the current camp Hooper and the other squad members will have another gathering in March where a squad for the Oceania Championship will be picked.

"That's probably one of the bigger milestones leading up to the World Cup," Hooper said.

"Obviously the final squad will be picked for the tournament in Italy following that."

Competition for team spots is often fierce, and Hooper said it's no different in his position.

"There's really good depth. There's actually three guys from my state in that position actually, and four when you include one of the guys who can play back row," he said.

"That's a big positive for ACT. There's also a lot of strength coming from boys in New South Wales and Queensland in my position as well.

"I've got my work cut out for me, especially with most of them being a year older, but I'll just knuckle down and try to learn from those older boys and push through."

Hooper said his work with the Brumbies Academy has given him great insights into the game.

"I've been at Newcastle training with the Brumbies for 10 days. It's awesome getting that exposure and learning from the best of the best, as far as coaching in Australia goes," he said.

"There's the likes of Laurie Fisher and Dan McKellar, which has been awesome for my development. It will be put me in good stead heading into these junior competitions."

Hooper's big aim - the World Rugby Under 20s Championships - start from June 28 in Italy.