Monday 9 June 2014 07:11, UK
Australia have confirmed that Michael Hooper will take over the reins as captain after Stephen Moore was ruled out with a cruciate knee ligament injury.
Moore had only been appointed ahead of the France series but he has been ruled out for the rest of the year after being injured as he made a tackle in the first minute of Australia's crushing 50-23 first Test victory.
Hooper, who was initially named as vice-captain alongside Adam Ashley-Cooper, will now lead the side for the second Test against Les Bleus in Melbourne, with the 22-year-old becoming Australia’s youngest skipper since Trevor Allan in 1947.
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie said: "It's a massive honour to captain your country and I'm confident Michael has all the right leadership qualities to lead this team moving forward.
"He'll undoubtedly bring his own unique personality to the way things are done but we wouldn't have recognised him in a leadership capacity at the beginning of this series if we didn't think he had to the ability to step into this role.
"I couldn't have been more impressed with his performance on the weekend after Stephen Moore went down, so we know the added responsibility won't impact the high-level of play we all expect from him each week."
Openside flanker Hooper, who has been the vice-captain for the Waratahs, has been capped 29 times since making his debut in 2012.
