Ethan Hooker became a household name at both the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Springboks, but only two years into his senior career since making his debut at the age of just 20, Ethan Hooker’s contribution to the national cause has seen him recognised by World Rugby as a nominee in the Breakthrough Player of the Year category.
While he will find out his fate on Saturday, alongside Ox Nche, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Malcolm Marx – three of the four nominees for World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year – the award would cap off a sensational year, making his Springbok debut against Italy in July and scoring his first try against the Azzurri last weekend in his seventh appearance for his country.
Having captained the Hollywoodbets Sharks Under 20 side in 2023 to the SA Rugby Under 20 Cup title, his star was already on the rise, and he was quickly elevated into the senior team and has since become a permanent fixture for the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
His coach at the time, Mike Vowles, can only but sing this young man’s praises for the way he worked his way through the system, always giving of his best whilst remaining humble and true to his character.
“I coached Ethan in both his under-19 and under-20 years, and his is actually the most amazing story,” Vowles recalls fondly.
Locally schooled at Westville Boys High, Hooker came to the Hollywoodbets Sharks on an Academy bursary, was living at home and would commute every day from Hillcrest, but came without a huge reputation.
“I don’t want to say there wasn’t much expectation, but no one really knew who Ethan was. He’d played pretty well at school to get into the Academy system, but wasn’t a big name.
“When he arrived, he was the most humble guy, pretty quiet and unassuming, and although you could see his athletic potential, you weren’t sure where he was going to go as a rugby player.”
Three to four months in and the coaches knew they had something special in front of them: he was incredibly hard-working, he was unbelievably diligent and he was hungry to learn.
“He was coachable and just got better and better, and as his confidence grew, we saw leadership ability in him, so much so that he captained the Under 21s as a 20-year-old.
“He came in under the radar, but year-on-year, just got better.”
After winning the SA Rugby Under 21 Cup, he was noticed and taken up into the senior set-up, and two seasons later, he is now a well-established Springbok and clearly marked for a bright international future.
“The beauty with Ethan is not just the fact that he’s a great rugby player; he really is humble and genuine off the field as well, and he’s a testament to what hard work and effort can do,” Vowles explains.
“He’s probably one of our proudest exports from the junior system, purely because of what he’s achieved in such a short space of time and the fact that he came out of school with very little hype and kicked on so quickly to achieve what he has.
“We’re hugely proud of him, and it was an absolute pleasure working with him from a character point of view, and I look forward to watching his career continue to grow.”