IT'S hot, it's hard and he's got plenty to learn, but there's no place that Tom Hooper would rather be than training with the ACT Brumbies' Super Rugby squad.
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Hooper has been promoted from the Brumbies Academy into the 36-player squad of the current Super Rugby AU champions and while making the final cut for the season proper will be tough, he's determined to make the most of the opportunity.
At the moment for the talented lock it means learning all he can from the more experienced players in the squad and pushing himself in the pre-season training sessions.
"It's been really good, I did pre-season with them last year so there weren't too many curve balls, but it's a new look squad and they're all really talented, especially in the lock department," he said.
"I am the youngest lock there, so I'm just learning off all the other guys and they're pretty handy. There's a new guy James Tucker who has come over from NZ, he's really good on the ball and in the ruck work, so I'm learning a fair bit off him and how to play that New Zealand style of rugby.
"Just being around that environment full-time, I'm already seeing improvements in my line-out jumping and that's what the Brumbies pride themselves on, the craft of scrums and line-outs.
"For me it's getting used to that set piece, that's where I've seen the biggest growth in my game and I'm getting fitter and stronger every day with their S and C [strength and conditioning], which is world class."
Having been part of Brumbies Academy, Hooper is well aware of the pathways in place to help emerging talents such as himself to progress to the elite level.
Head coach Dan McKellar has been one of those pushing for that pathway, so Hooper knows he will get opportunities and that the work he does will be noticed.
Whether or not that leads to Super Rugby AU minutes remains to be seen, but it won't be from lack of toil on Hooper's part.
"I think the Brumbies from the first day of academy to now, I knew that was the pathway that you go through and you've just got to trust the process. Dan really likes to reward players who work hard and perform well," he said.
"I just know I've got to perform on the training park and then if I get the chance, perform on the field and I'll be rewarded. It's all about about opportunities in this early stage of my career, so I just want to do the best I can to put myself in the position that I can get those opportunities and go from there."
While one of the Brumbies' planned trials against the NSW Waratahs in Bowral has been cancelled due to COVID-19, there will be another against the Western Force on February 5 where Hooper hopes to impress.
"I'm hoping to get some good quality game time there, I think we are playing a sort of varied format, we're probably playing four 20 minute quarters which will allow some of us younger squad members to have a crack," he said.
"That game is pretty important for getting in that top 22 come the competition games. There's massive benchmark on that from the guys from last year obviously being champions, but also I think they are looking for something exciting and different this year."
