Quade Cooper - The most important player in Australian Rugby

[Reddy!]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Quade Cooper is the most important player in Australian Rugby. And I'm not using hyperbole. If he goes down injured, the Wallabies can albeit kiss any hope of winning the World Cup (or even making it past the Quarter Finals goodbye).

Today it was evident how much the Wallabies backline missed him with Giteau creating nothing in attack. As a result, Ioane and Davies tried hard but were provided with no opportunities. His long passing, opportunity play, speed, footwork, general play kicking and vision is not matched by many flyhalves in the world.

It's also not surprising that the most crucial Wallaby player also plays for the 2011 Super Rugby Champion team the Queensland Reds.

So who agrees with me? Who do you think is the most important player in Australian Rugby?

 

[qwerty51]

We lost in the forwards. He would've helped but not by much.

Pocock is the most important player by far - this performance just emphasised that.

 

[cyclopath]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Quade Cooper is the most important player in Australian Rugby. And I'm not using hyperbole. If he goes down injured, the Wallabies can albeit kiss any hope of winning the World Cup (or even making it past the Quarter Finals goodbye).

Today it was evident how much the Wallabies backline missed him with Giteau creating nothing in attack. As a result, Ioane and Davies tried hard but were provided with no opportunities. His long passing, opportunity play, speed, footwork, general play kicking and vision is not matched by many flyhalves in the world.

It's also not surprising that the most crucial Wallaby player also plays for the 2011 Super Rugby Champion team the Queensland Reds.

So who agrees with me? Who do you think is the most important player in Australian Rugby?

I think he is very important. I also think you might be slightly bonkers if you think he would have won that game.
I slightly suspect this thread will go poorly, but let's see.

 

[Reddy!]

Viva la reds!

 

[light]

I'd say without Pocock we are more so fucked. Cooper can't do anything if he's getting slow to no ball at all and our forwards can't ruck or maul.

 

[cyclopath]

Viva la reds!

Yeah, that'll help, Reddy!!

 

[Jnor]

Agreed, qwerty.

Pocock. Then Cooper, but only alongside Genia.

 

[Reddy!]

But seriously, you have to admit our attack was a joke. It took the brilliance of 2 Qld Reds players to get the Wallabies on the board. Yes Pocock is a machine and is critical to the success of our forwards...but the Reds showed this year what a pack working together can produce. The thing is, Quade Cooper is the point of difference between the Wallabies and any other team in the world.

 

[cyclopath]

I'd say without Pocock we are more so fucked. Cooper can't do anything if he's getting slow to no ball at all and our forwards can't ruck or maul.

It struck me at various stages that the ball was there to be pilfered, but no-one went for it. Pocock would have made a difference, but on his own would not have been enough.

 

[Reddy!]

I'd say without Pocock we are more so fucked. Cooper can't do anything if he's getting slow to no ball at all and our forwards can't ruck or maul.

Reds did fine this season without Pocock!? I am a firm believer that the forwards are all team work - the backline is where individual brilliance shines and games are won for fun. Quade Cooper likes to win games for fun. Matt Giteau likes to play rugby.

 

[tigerland12]

We lost in the forwards. He would've helped but not by much.

Pocock is the most important player by far - this performance just emphasised that.

Definatly agree here, whilst the likes of Quade and O'Connor would of given the backline some flair, our forwards were dominated an they wouldn't have made that much of a differance. Could of been different with Pocock, Horwill (possibly Simmons off the bench) getting through the grunt work

 

[Gagger]

Based on the final last weekend it would have been Horwill at the breakdown - but you missed that opportunity Reddy!

 

[cyclopath]

But seriously, you have to admit our attack was a joke. It took the brilliance of 2 Qld Reds players to get the Wallabies on the board. Yes Pocock is a machine and is critical to the success of our forwards...but the Reds showed this year what a pack working together can produce. The thing is, Quade Cooper is the point of difference between the Wallabies and any other team in the world.

Sure, the attack was poor, but that worries me less, as Genia / Cooper give better structure to that, so too Beale. But the repeated farce of the breakdown really worries me. If we fail to show like that again, we will be toasted by all comers.

 

[Train Without a Station]

I think the man love for Pocock isn't quite justified. Considering the problem was the lack of physicality from all 8 forwards I don't imagine Pocock would have looked much better than Hodgson or Robinson. McCalman's lack of physicality and the fact that Rocky was pretty much carried to get a full 80 instead of the amount of game time he was effective for didn't help. Also Ben Alexander's reluctance to do tight work certainly doesn't help.

 

[Utility Back]

I don't think it was so much physicality but structure! No one had an idea, everyone in each others way, 6 forwards in one breakdown, 0 at the next, samoa push over and regather, or slow it down by lying all over it. We have the cattle to bring it, just need to know how to use them. This was a coaches loss.

Not trying to bring and tribalism to this but the reds showed how to get I done. Everyone knows their part, and the are greater then the sum of their parts.

 

[Bruwheresmycar]

We didn't exactly lose this game because of anyone in-particular. They went out there to run silly moves all game. We specialize at the kick returns, yet we did not kick the ball into their 22 once. The game was so one dimensional and was probably the result of coach's instructions.

 

[Tahfan]

But seriously, you have to admit our attack was a joke. It took the brilliance of 2 Qld Reds players to get the Wallabies on the board. Yes Pocock is a machine and is critical to the success of our forwards...but the Reds showed this year what a pack working together can produce. The thing is, Quade Cooper is the point of difference between the Wallabies and any other team in the world.

agreed in attack but he's as useful as carrying around a used condom in defence.

The Wobs cant hide him like the reds do at FB in defence cos if they do they lose their second most important attacking weapon in KB (Kurtley Beale)'s counter attacking.

Most important player is a big & probably overstated call but he is hugely important to their attack.

 

[Ash]

Giteau irks me because he can't draw and pass, and he can't ran to the line and pass. When not kicking, 99% of the time he will have 3 plays: outside break, shovel the ball on after crabbing two or three steps across field and turning his body (allowing the defence to slide) to pass, or very occasionally stepping off his outside foot and running straight on the inside shoulder. He is so predictable it is an attack killer; when there is an overlap he generally allows the defence to slide and loses the opportunity. The way Gits plays he doesn't create or find gaps for his outside man. I really really hope we don't have him at 10 for the Wallabies again, as with the amount of possession we had we should have scored more than 2 tries. Our backline was definitely misfiring. One of the reasons we lost, yes. Gits just couldn't get good ball to the centres, whenever they got it the whole backline was way too deep and the ball was passed way too early. Horrid.

But agree the forwards were the bigger reason we lost. The breakdown work was horrid, back to the bad days. The forwards were too often ball watching, letting the Samoans get away with murder at the breakdown. When they did get over the advantage line with picks and drives, they always took one to many. Genia restored a lot of structure, but by then it was too late. Alexander was one of the prime culprits here, I hate watching props standing at first receiver waiting for a hit up whilst we are obviously short at the ruck. Any prop or second row who thinks they should be standing away from rucks as a ball runner instead of cleaning out as first priority need to be dropped and re-taught how to play.

 

[No4918]

Haven't watched the game and this may not be the right thread but it seems like the Reds having 2 outstanding props around the park that can do everything you prob expect from really makes a difference to a side. Alexander was poor this year. Give me a weaker scrum with Daley and Slipper anyday compared to these guys today. What they do around the field more than makes up for the odd penalty against us at scrum time.

That's not to say was Fat cat fit he would still be my first choice loosehead but their must come a time when small advantages in the scrum are outweighed by other aspects a player can bring to the table.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Alexander was poor this year. Give me a weaker scrum with Daley and Slipper anyday compared to these guys today.

The only part of your post I disagree with is that it implies Alexander, one of the most highly scrum penalized prop in Super Rugby, is a strong scrummager.