quade cooper - a view from the guardian

[Ken Gargett]

Normally I think that this bloke is a truly appalling rugby writer without a clue, but this time he might have nailed it. Or he is trying to get a job with the tahs as press person (and I believe he has been doing just that) and they have signed quade under the table so this bloke is in early damage control.

He is correct about pocock.

Quade Cooper unjustly cast as Wallabies' Bledisloe Cup villain

Rajiv Maharaj

The real culprit in Australia’s defeat to the All Blacks hasn’t even been mentioned and, Quade Cooper: not as bad as most people think against the All Blacks at Eden Park. Photograph: Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images

Sunday 16 August 2015 18.06 AESTLast modified on Sunday 16 August 201518.09 AEST

Casting Quade Cooper as villain of the piece is the easiest gig in Australian sports journalism in the wake of the Wallabies’ 41-13 Bledisloe Cup Test loss to the All Blacks on Saturday night. The ‘Cooper Blooper’ headlines are everywhere, the calls for his head bordering on hysterical. And all of it totally unjustified.

In fact, a grave injustice is taking place. Cooper, for all his previous mishaps against the All Blacks, did not cost the Wallabies the match on Saturday night. The real culprit hasn’t even been mentioned. And, ironically, it’s the man many feel should replace Cooper at flyhalf: Matt Toomua.

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It was easy to jump on the Cooper blame bandwagon in the hours immediately after the match. On first take, he looked the prime suspect with a couple of early handling errors followed up with a game-defining yellow card for a high shot on All Black halfback Aaron Smith, which resulted in a penalty try.

The All Blacks scored two further tries with Cooper in the bin, effectively ending the contest with the score blowing out from 13-6 prior to Cooper’s send off to 34-6 during his 10-minute sidelining. Wallabies coach Michael Cheika’s decision to end Cooper’s night and not send him back once the sinbin clock expired added further weight to the view the flyhalf was responsible for the carnage.

However, like one of those mystery thrillers where the detective gleans a vital new clue by looking at old CCTV footage one more time, a review of the match video reveals what really happened, and why Cooper is not to blame.

Let’s start with Cooper’s yellow card for his high shot on Smith. Cooper was trying to save a try. It was a desperate act by a player committed to his team. The man Cooper clobbered, Smith, did exactly the same thing when he was yellow carded for taking Adam Ashley-Cooper high in the first Bledisloe Cup Test/Rugby Championship decider in Sydney last week.

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Was Cooper’s tackle worth a penalty try? That depends if you’re convinced Smith would have scored were it not for Cooper’s tackle. The more important question, however, is how did Smith find himself in a try-scoring position? And that’s where Matt Toomua comes into frame as the real villain with a poor kick to Julian Savea directly leading to the try. An incisive run by Conrad Smith and brilliant footwork by Nehe Milner-Skudder created the opportunity for Aaron Smith. Cooper was mopping up Toomua’s rubbish when tackling Smith.

It was a costly mistake by Toomua. To be just 13-6 down against the All Blacks at Eden Park – where they haven’t lost since 1986 – with 33 minutes to play was an ideal position for the Wallabies to be in, especially given the recent fast-finishing form of the Australian bench. Down 20-6 with a man down was hardly ideal but too soon people forget the Wallabies won in Sydney last week playing with 14 men for 20 minutes with Sekope Kepu binned in the seventh minute and Nick Phipps in the 55^th. To suggest Cooper’s absence in itself is to blame for what happened in Auckland is incorrect and unfair. His team-mates just managed the sinbinning very poorly, with dud kicking by Toomua at the forefront of blunders in a six-minute period where the match was effectively killed off as a contest.

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The real killer moment came off Toomua’s boot in the 49^th minute, two minutes after Cooper’s binning, when he kicked aimlessly to Milner-Skudder (him again) who showed great vision to kick back into space where there was no full-back (Israel Folau was up in the line, no doubt expecting Toomua to keep ball in hand as much as possible when a man down). One ruck later and Ma’a Nonu was in. In a flash, from 13-6 to 27-6. Game over. Who’s to blame – Cooper or Toomua? The footage doesn’t lie. Indeed, Cooper can rest easy during Cheika’s video review session this week. Toomua, on the other hand, should be worried.

All the chatter pre- and post-match has been on Chieka rolling the dice with his selection, one that cut six players from the Sydney winning team no less. There was nothing wrong with the selection of Cooper. It certainly didn’t backfire as per the reasons stated above. However, there would have been one significant lesson for Cheika from Auckland: Australia must never again start a big match without David Pocock in the starting line-up. The All Blacks’ confidence grew off the back of ruck dominance in the first half. It was all one-way traffic. Pocock would have stemmed the black tide at the breakdown. In terms of selection, Cheika is in many ways back where he started before the Rugby Championship: Pocock or Hooper? He tried both, which worked a treat in Sydney, but if there is to be just one, then it’s now clear it can only be Pocock.

On a final note, true rugby fans irrespective of who they support would have been delighted to see Dan Carter back in form. He was peerless, regal and majestic in all his touches. Rugby is far better off when Carter plays like he did in Auckland. He will be sorely missed next year. And so too will that great man Richie McCaw who is now the most capped rugby player of all time. What a colossus he is, the greatest rugby player of all time. Period.

[El Presidente]

Not a mention that he fluffed kickoffs (again) Not a mention that he can't find touch from general play (again).

That is what "safe" is. Doing the little things right consistently. Quade is clueless there. Until he masters that he is a talented Super 15 player.

Phipps was panned for his 10 minutes the week prior. Copper deserves the same. Going high 5 meters out.The only contact made was the head! ...he managed to miss every other part of the body! He had no chance of stopping the try. The only "Cooper Magic" on the night was watching any Wallaby chance "disappear".

He was certainly not the only flop. Simply our most glaring one.

[ayepatz]

I agree completely about Pocock and Carter, and even that Toomua had some shocking errors, but he says it himself:-

"...with a couple of early handling errors followed up with a game-defining yellow card for a high shot on All Black halfback Aaron Smith, which resulted in a penalty try.

The All Blacks scored two further tries with Cooper in the bin, effectively ending the contest with the score blowing out from 13-6 prior to Cooper’s send off to 34-6 during his 10-minute sidelining."

These are just the facts of the game. However you cut it, a man down against the All Blacks, particularly your fly-half, is bound to have a big impact on the game. You simply can't allow them that sort of advantage, particularly at Eden Park. It was a desperate challenge, borne out of frustration. He made a bad decision in the heat of the moment.

It's not the whole story, I agree, but it was certainly the catalyst for what followed, and, as such, he deserves his portion of the blame.

[Ken Gargett]

Not a mention that he fluffed kickoffs (again) Not a mention that he can't find touch from general play (again).

That is what "safe" is. Doing the little things right consistently. Quade is clueless there. Until he masters that he is a talented Super 15 player.

Phipps was panned for his 10 minutes the week prior. Copper deserves the same. Going high 5 meters out.The only contact made was the head! ...he managed to miss every other part of the body! He had no chance of stopping the try. The only "Cooper Magic" on the night was watching any Wallaby chance "disappear".

He was certainly not the only flop. Simply our most glaring one.

i am, of course, just the messenger.

i would say that you are wrong in one thing (and also, i really think that the kickoffs went where he was told).

phibbs was not panned for his ten minutes off. that was his best period. it was far worse having him on the field.

i will bet you a good cigar that quade is on the world cup flight!

[Jimm902]

I am not a Quade fan at all and although Saturday was not entirely his fault, not by a long stretch, he is not our best 10 for what the wallabies are trying to achieve...Sure Toomua had a bad night; as did Nic white and some of our forwards...why the hooper Pocock combo was not from the start is beyond most rugby followers...quades blind pass sailing over the touch line within the first 20 mins whilst we were attacking their line I felt was the beginning of the end of the game ....poor judgement from the brumbies 9 & 10, woeful kicking and a slowness to the breakdown (not to mention our scrum not up to first test standard) almost reminded me of the Deans era...once the Aussies started scrambling, it was pretty much over...sure the ABs were on fire but they also made their fair share of mistakes early on - mistakes we couldn't capitalise from...I do have faith in Chieka, and hope this experimentation is all worth it come World Cup time, but until we can get a decent 9, 10, 12 combo, I fear the wallabies will have an earlier exit than we initially have anticipated....just my 2c

[jat]

I'm a bit concerned that we're still 'experimenting' with a line up. We had a combination that beat the AB's, admittedly at home. So why not take that team to Eden Park and test it again in the fire of a Bledisloe match in NZ??

The wallabies have a 'sight-seeing' match in the US then onto England. I fail to see the purpose of the US trip or the value (in terms of match experience) it adds to the team.

We better not be still experimenting come Oct, facing England and Wales (at home) with a side that's still searching for a combo, let alone stepping up and working on the precision play.

What will happen to rugby in this country if the wallabies fail to make it through the pool round??

[JohnS]

We better not be still experimenting come Oct, facing England and Wales (at home) with a side that's still searching for a combo, let alone stepping up and working on the precision play.

What will happen to rugby in this country if the wallabies fail to make it through the pool round??

There will be vitriolic anger in the press and amongst the Rugby-loving public.

I think things will settle for the World Cup. I'm really happy that the selection rules were eased this year to allow foreign-based players back into the side. If we get the side that started in Sydney last week, we can at least be competitive.

[Fuzz]

What will happen to rugby in this country if the wallabies fail to make it through the pool round??

We still have a women's rugby team.

[billh1]

We still have a women's rugby team.

Now that's funny...I don't have to know s@#t about rugby to enjoy that!

Cheers!

[mongboy]

Aahhh ! The "Tokoroa Turnstile"!

As an AB's fan, I was pleasantly surprised to see him named for the Eden Park test.
He looks fantastic when presented with a supply of clean, quick ball at the break down.

An absolute liability on defence or behind a struggling forward pack...

[Ken Gargett]

Aahhh ! The "Tokoroa Turnstile"!

As an AB's fan, I was pleasantly surprised to see him named for the Eden Park test.

He looks fantastic when presented with a supply of clean, quick ball at the break down.

An absolute liability on defence or behind a struggling forward pack...

fair point although i'd argue his defence is better than many suggest (a teammate once said that it isn't that quade can't tackle, it is just that he does not like to tackle) and not sure toomua is any better. foley is much worse.

also, very very few five eighths ever look good behind a struggling pack. dan carter had the worst game i have ever seen him play the previous week when he was behind the pack that struggled. the only two i ever saw manage reasonably well were mclean and lynagh. to be fair, hard to know with carter because he is almost never behind the lesser pack. you could add johnny but only because he played the same. just kicked the crap out of it.

[frenchkiwi]

Not much of value in that article apart from pointing out the obvious: it wasn't all Cooper's fault. Cooper just managed to add insult to injury with a few trademark unforced errors. The deathblow for any aspiring international player, particularly a first five. Cheika would wash his hands and be done with him if he had some settled halves at his disposal, but he doesn't. Of course, Cheika has to defend him because he made the worse blunder of selecting him for this game, when all the signs were pointing to Cooper being consistent with his recent abysmal efforts.

More worrying is that the first choice first fives, Toomua and Foley, haven't looked great at directing the team around the park, even in victorious efforts. That is the only reason i can think of for Cheika's Cooper gamble on the weekend. I think if he picks either and sticks with them for a few games, with the same blokes at halfback and 2nd 5 to play alongside them, there will be improvement. Hopefully it will be an England-beating level of improvement...

Any thoughts on Giteau? Without paying much attention, i thought that he was invisible/ineffective as a ball-carrier (not a good sign for a 2nd 5) and slightly absent as a second option playmaker but great in scrambling defence. Seems to know what to do but lack the physicality to do it.

[Ken Gargett]

Not much of value in that article apart from pointing out the obvious: it wasn't all Cooper's fault. Cooper just managed to add insult to injury with a few trademark unforced errors. The deathblow for any aspiring international player, particularly a first five. Cheika would wash his hands and be done with him if he had some settled halves at his disposal, but he doesn't. Of course, Cheika has to defend him because he made the worse blunder of selecting him for this game, when all the signs were pointing to Cooper being consistent with his recent abysmal efforts.

More worrying is that the first choice first fives, Toomua and Foley, haven't looked great at directing the team around the park, even in victorious efforts. That is the only reason i can think of for Cheika's Cooper gamble on the weekend. I think if he picks either and sticks with them for a few games, with the same blokes at halfback and 2nd 5 to play alongside them, there will be improvement. Hopefully it will be an England-beating level of improvement...

Any thoughts on Giteau? Without paying much attention, i thought that he was invisible/ineffective as a ball-carrier (not a good sign for a 2nd 5) and slightly absent as a second option playmaker but great in scrambling defence. Seems to know what to do but lack the physicality to do it.

he might have been invisible because he was on the bench. and by the time he got on, it was all over.

the week before, he was the best back on the field.

has always struggled with his size but probably helps his pace and elusiveness.

[JohnS]

Any thoughts on Giteau? Without paying much attention, i thought that he was invisible/ineffective as a ball-carrier (not a good sign for a 2nd 5) and slightly absent as a second option playmaker but great in scrambling defence. Seems to know what to do but lack the physicality to do it.

My thoughts on Giteau? Pure shock that he could end up soon with 100 tests (currently on 95 at the time of writing this post). I thought he was gone and forever banished while Robbie Deans was coach.