But concussion is still often treated lightly and instances like Hooper's clear discomfort on Friday night are where the game lets itself down. It makes no difference that Hooper recovered and went on to become the most influential player in this match - the fact remains that he should have been taken off. Shortly after the tackle on a Hurricanes' forward, Hooper was still clearly woozy and was on openside guard duty when the Hurricanes pulled off a spectacular set move from a scrum for Vito to score under the posts.
We will never know if Vito would have scored the try anyway or whether a more clear-headed Hooper would not have been fooled by the inside cut of second five-eighths Tim Bateman. Hooper made the tackle on Bateman but the latter was able to unload to a charging Vito in a move that used to reap rewards for Zinzan Brooke and the champion Auckland team of his day.
Either way, depending on the result of Hooper's citing, he could get a rest anyway - the right treatment for concussion, even if it comes about for the wrong reasons.
Hooper and young Reds flanker Liam Gill shape as two of the most burgeoning talents in a 7 jersey anywhere and Hooper shook off his knock to become the major figure in this game.
The Hurricanes, 25-16 up at one point, should have won but lost because they were too loose - in turnovers, ball security, handling, goalkicking and defence. Many of the turnovers were self-inflicted by the Hurricanes but Hooper was the architect of others; he tackled hard all night and made several bruising runs with ball in hand - and you just hope the collisions did not add to whatever it was going on in his brain pan.
He scored his try after the Hurricanes botched a scrum feed and the ball squirted free. After some charges at the line and recycling, Hooper was driven over.
Replacement first five-eighths Zac Holmes was another senior figure in this match, running and kicking well and always keeping the Hurricanes guessing. He took advantage of some weak defence from Canes' first five Tusi Pisi to score the final try, ending the match and a sequence where the Brumbies scored 21 unanswered points.
The Brumbies looked a lot better when they decided to stop kicking the ball to the Hurricanes' back three and playing the game tighter up front - with hooker Stephen Moore leading the way in the driving stuff - paid dividends in the second half.
The other player to really catch the eye in this match was electric Canes halfback TJ Perenara. The thinking behind leaving him out of the 35-man All Black squad named this week was apparently that his promise was well-recognised by the selectors but they think he is young and that his time will come.
Fair enough; he is only 20. But there are talents that deserve a stage on which to perform and where limiting factors like age and experience matter not. Let's think of All Black youngsters John Kirwan, Michael Jones and Jonah Lomu, to name just a few. Too much to link Perenara's name to those superstars? Maybe - but this kid looks to have something special. His first try was a low, hard, virtually unstoppable dart from a ruck, his second a smart piece of acceleration and a sidestep which embarrassed the Brumbies defence. His passing can be a bit inconsistent but he makes things happen - and he looks like what might happen if you were ever able to cross the genes of Sid Going and the cheeky brilliance of Shaun Johnson of the Warriors. It is the latter's cheeky brilliance which Perenara has a touch of.
His time will come. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Hurricanes 25 (TJ Perenara 2, V.Vito, J. Toomaga-Allen tries; A. Taylor pen, con), Brumbies 37 (F. Auelua, S. Carter, M. Hooper, Z. Holmes tries; Holmes 3 pens, 4 cons). Halftime: 13-15.
