Quade Cooper – a lone gunman?

Matt Rowley September 24, 2012 77

Over the weekend, New Zealand’s public enemy number 1 — Quade Cooper — let the genie out of the bottle with his open criticism of the whole Wallabies administration. Much of the media is painting this as a simple Giteau-esque player fallout between Deans and Cooper.

Is it? Or is it actually the spearhead for a semi-coordinated putsch to bring to a head a coaching and leadership arrangement in the Wallabies that just no longer holds water?

The brouhaha started with an AAP interview on Thursday in which Cooper asserted that the Wallabies were certainly not going to beat the All Blacks playing the way they have since the 2011 World Cup, and that the Wallabies need to get back to an attacking brand of footy if they want to beat the Kiwis and keep the fans on side. A subtle, coded jab.

Then on Saturday — in front of my very eyes on Twitter — he let rip a little further.

I am allowed from February to may sir RT @lachlanstuart: @quadecooper Wish you were allowed to play rugby your way! The freakish way!

— Quade Cooper (@QuadeCooper) September 22, 2012

And there was this tweet, which was later deleted: ‘I love rugby but there’s shit going on behind and above the players the effects the whole organisation! Happens at the reds few years back,

Woah there! A drunken Twitter spray, maybe between Xbox FIFA matches? No sir. In his next interview on Sunday, far from backing down, Quade stuck the knife in a little further:

There’s a lot of people who are afraid to say what they feel so they just go along with it and nothing is going to change. That’s why I feel so strongly as a player. I don’t want to be involved in the toxic environment, and that’s how it is at the moment. It’s an environment where things aren’t going according to plan and everyone is looking to point the finger.

Strong stuff. For those thinking this is all aimed squarely at Robbie Deans, though, I’m not so sure. Deans’s name clearly hangs above the door, and Cooper even goes as far as talking about working under McKenzie as the next Wallabies coach, so he’s painting a clear picture of a key change that needs to happen.

However, is it likely for this one man to create the whole ‘toxic environment’ that Quade refers to? G&GR’s inside mail is that the Wallabies coaching setup is ‘pretty loose’. That’s hardly surprising, considering Deans didn’t chosen any of his now-assistant coaches (including the ‘Coaching Coordinator’) and that David Nucifora — an original rival for Robbie’s job — never seems to be far away, including being responsible for the review of Robbie’s (and his) World Cup performance.

It’s an open secret that Nuci is on a promise for first crack at the head coaching role if and when Robbie is finally moved on, and the whispers are that relations between the two coaches are understandably stretched thin. That John O’Neill — a man who’s made plenty of the hard, but right decisions in the past — cannot see that this is now a situation so horribly compromised that there is only one path of action left to take, is baffling.

Still afloat!

One has to assume that the bold steps O’Neill took to start and then prolong the Deans experiment has left him believing his fate is lashed to the mast of the Cantabrian’s. O’Neill’s publicised flirtation with Manchester City last year, and now his actual Chairmanship of a whole other company in Echo, scream pretty loudly as to how he feels that ship is sailing and where he sees his future.

So now imagine you are a candidate for Wallabies head coach or the ARU CEO position. The 2013 Lions tour is surely your key prize, and to get a decent run at it you’ll need the 2012 Spring Tour under your belt.

At half-time against the Pumas last Saturday you could see it all falling beautifully into place, when a gutsy but bloody inconvenient Wallabies performance corked up the leaking hull of SS Dingo Deans just enough for it to set sail to South Africa and South America, even listing as dangerously as it is. Losses away from home may not even be enough to sink it now, and God forbid a win on the road.

Undoubtedly the time to strike would be now. When better to hold a coup than when the head of state is physically out of the country? It’s the classic modus operandi for coach sackings: by the time they get back from tour the deal is done.

I’m not necessarily saying Quade was put up to all his statements. The initial forays — especially the tweets — are certainly in his voice. But the phrase ‘toxic environment’? That really doesn’t sound like the Twitter star whose latest tweet, as of time of publishing, was

Who likes skulls! #skull instagr.am/p/P6WTG3wYbu/

— Quade Cooper (@QuadeCooper) September 23, 2012

The beauty of ‘toxic environment’ is that it doesn’t just point the finger at poor Dingo, but at all of those currently implicated in the administration. This is important, because if O’Neill does manage to cast away from SS Dingo in time, ‘caretaker coach’ Nucifora and his hand-picked band of incumbent assistants will prove very difficult to dislodge before the Lions arrive in June.

Is this grassy knoll stuff? Maybe. But even if the Twitter rumour of Deans’s departure a few weeks ago was a furphy, it certainly raises the questions of who started it and why.

Regardless the style of play the Wallabies employ on the field over the next few weeks, the action off it should be fascinating.

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About the author: Matt Rowley View all posts by Matt Rowley

Matt started G&GR just before the 2007 Rugby World Cup and has been enslaved ever since. Follow him on twitter: @MattRowley

Discussion »

Johnny-boy

Gee nobody could say Cooper doesn’t have some balls. I admire the guy enormously for having the guts to stand up and say what needs to be said. Ironic that he seems to be the only player so far who cares enough about Australian rugby to go in to bat for it. The others clearly don’t care enough and are happy just to go along for the ride and collect their paycheck. That the ARU board has allowed it to get to this is a damning indictment of their custody of Australian rugby.
- Suckerforred
  
  I don’t think that it is because the other players don’t care. They do. I think that it is because the others feel they don’t have the negotiating position to speak out. My observation from as early as the June tests is that the Wallaby camp is not a happy place. Quade has just verbalised it and is saying what we are all thinking.
  
  I am not saying that he should have said what he did. Just saying that there are reasons and reasons the others haven’t spoken out.
  - johnny-boy
    
    There have been several players in the Wallaby team who are clearly not our best in their position, who would think Deans was the ants pants. Indeed this appears to be part of Deans’ survival strategy, to select 2nd level players
    who really shouldn’t be there, to buy player loyalty. It doesn’t help the Wallaby team much but it helps Deans.
    - Antony
      
      Are you saying that Robbie Deans intentionally picks shit players so that they will support him after he loses games because he’s picked shit players?
- Antony
  
  Fuck, accidentally deleted my last reply.
  
  Long-story short: he definitely has balls and I’m sure he’s doing what he thinks is right by the code, but he’s dropped his team-mates in it (particularly by essentially saying that lots of them don’t care as much as he does, so they stay quiet) right before a tour to the two most physical countries in the rugby world. A tour that, obviously, he isn’t taking part in.
  
  Maybe it’s for the good of the game in the long run, but it’s still not the classiest move.
  
  There’s a solid debate on the forum on this topic, so really just see there for every conceivable argument (and a few less conceivable ones) from either side.
- MT
  
  The biggest problem for the Wallabies over the last 18 months is an inability to catch, pass, kick or tackle effectively and consistently throughout an 80 minute game.
  
  Looking at the Deans era Crusaders, I’m sure he would love them to be throwing the ball around, but maybe they need to demonstrate some basic skills first.
  
  Having the balls to speak out is one thing, but doing the hard work to improve would be more beneficial. Cooper has done nothing since the Reds won the comp, but he spends too much time listening to his own press…
  - rmc
    
    Well said. He had one great season with the Reds and has really gone off the boil since, still believing the hype from that season. You cant’ blame Deans for kicking balls out in RWC semi-finals or expect him to go back to showing him how to catch a ball or tackle anybody over 55kgs. Most over-rated player in the team. No wonder he left NZ. He wouldn’t make their third-tier team….maybe a bench spot for NZ Maori. He needs to be under the radar and working on his game, not making these sorts of comments. Get over yourself Cooper!
  - Who?
    
    Can anyone explain to me why all our players seem to drop the ball more when they wear gold than they do when they’re playing for their provinces..? The only reason I can rationalize is that they’re lacking confidence or just not quite right mentally in gold…
    - sph45
      
      AAC might be an exception. Earlier in the season I would have said that other Waratahs were also exceptions, but not sure I believe that anymore.
  - Curious
    
    I agree – change of coach would be interesting but can someone actually tell me HOW Deans may have been stifling quade or the backline in playing attractive footy?? …… in truth is it really Deans fault they loose concentration and get rattled like schoolgirls ? or just run straight and hard AND offload occasionally – quade makes as many errors as he does initiate tries and he KNOWS it – hes just not as good as he thought he was when the big boys play and he’d taking it out on others
    - Dally M
      
      Ummmm…this previous piece prett much sums up how Deans has been stifling Quade, the backline & attractive attacking rugby.
      
      http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/wallaby-attack-patterns/
      
      That and selections like non-passing centres like McCabe, Horne, Faainga etc.
- CT Hong Kong
  
  Well, blind-freddy could see that something is going on and the players aren’t a happy bunch. But, whether Quade has “balls” because he’s speaking up is questionable. His form on the weekend was appalling. Lazy tracking back in defence, slow clearance kicks being charged-down, flinging passes way in front of the man and into touch, long cut-out speculator passes being snapped up by the opposition on the intercept, not having a running option inside-in him so just flinging the ball on the ground along the defensive line, not adjusting to the rush-defence and throwing one-after-the-other hospital pass. Until Cooper stops playing like a petulant schoolboy who’s had his lunch-money stolen and starts playing like a Wallaby that actually wants to be there, he should keep his thoughts to himself. Stop blaming others and get on with it.
  - Old Weary
    
    would have to initially agree with you. Quade’s recent execution of basic skills has been very poor, and makes his position look a lot like a whinge on the way out, but I do personally think there is more to is.
    
    A couple of key issues he seems to have is why Dean’s didn’t show any public support for him during the McCaw incidents and the crowd focus on him during the RWC.
    Despite Dean’s coaching the Wallabies, he is still highly regarded in NZ, and for him to rebut the storm the media made about Ritchie, or highlight the conduct of the crowd to try to lessen the impact would have made a difference IMO. To say nothing, but listen to Graham “the grub” Henry publicly talk about how “Quade was getting what he deserved”, I can only assume he agreed with him.
    
    Do I agree with how Quade has gone about this? Not at all. It makes him look like a whinger, and seems he has made his choice to leave. But did he have any other options?
johnny-boy

George Gregan as an ARU board member appointing Nucifora as Wallaby coach ? While it would be an even bigger disaster than Deans, the irony would almost be worth it :)
- Touko
  
  You’re right…that’d be f@@kin’ hysterical!
Ben

Good for Quade…i think all of us are just fed up with the back office and front office nonsense that goes on. If Nucifora becomes head coach then i will stop watching(probably not really). But Seriously something happened to the Wallabies from the time rocky was sacked. and the world cup started. the adventure was gone. It all became hyper conservative.

It seems to me that Quade is gone. He is making some parting shots on the way out the door. Not a coincidence that the quote was made after he found out the spring tour was out of question.

The ARU has been screwing around with his new contract, as they did the last time…..when he found out that Phil Waugh had a larger ARU top up than he did. Its rediculous.

The Waraths couldnt manage Kurtley…..and he was gone. Now Quade…..the Wallabies will truly miss him when he goes.

Anyway i hope something like this does force a cleanout at the ARU……and not JON….all the other useless backstabbing admin people that are running the game into the ground.
- whatwouldberniedo
  
  i see this as the logical end point to the trajectory that started in the auckland bledisloe last year. QC and KB went too lateral too early and got taught a lesson. it should have been left at that but deans went out to the after game pressie and essentially told the world that it wasn’t the game plan and that his ‘young bucks’ aren’t coachable.
  
  that night signalled a major rift in the organisation and something had to be done THEN. it wasn’t. here we are. and now we’ve lost the most exciting player in the country (who actually wants to win, and not be second). golf clap ARU.
  - whatwouldberniedo
    
    actually, something was done, JON resigned RD before RWC and effectively endorsed a coach who had already fractured his own team. how can the administration not be implicated in this when behind close doors the KPI for deans was clearly success vs the boks (effectively maintenance of 2nd rank) and not RWC or bledisloe success.
Mumbles

One thing is for sure, Quade won’t be back in G&G until there has been a clean out of all the rotten word at the ARU. But good help us if Nucifora gets Deans role, it’s time for Ewen !
TimB

I dont doubt that Quade is spot on that it’s a toxic environment. Three thoughts come to mind though when reading all of his public comments on the matter.

1. What has he done internally to address these before going public?
2. How have he, JOC an Beale contributed to the toxic environment with their off field behavior?
3. Has he forgotten that it was the very same ARU that got him off his criminal charges from the Gold Coast?

I’m the first to agree Deans has to go, but I also appreciate the irony that the ARUs insistence at having one set of rules for the 3 amigos and another set for every other player has finally bitten them and its Quade doing the biting.
- http://twitter.com/sportamanda Amanda
  
  Agree. And I think it’s a bit rich for Quade to be chucking rocks when he’s made so many fundamental skill errors that have let us down. Those were not errors chancing his hand, they were simple dropped passes, charged down kicks etc, that we all seem to have forgotten.
  
  The old furphy tactic?
  
  If the bloke was performing, I’d have more time for his views. And yes, I do think it’s time for Deans’ departure, have done since we lost to Ireland at the World Cup.
- Fetch
  
  Did the ARU really get him off the charges in reality – don’t think so – was the presiding magistrate a massive reds supporter ? – probably – Thank you your worship !
Scott Bryant

It’s a sad reflection on where the whole Wallaby/ARU set up is at that most would probably agree with QC’s sentiment however I don’t think it serves QC well bleating on about via twitter with thinly veiled swipes.

What is beyond question is the Wallabies are dying a slow death as empty seats at once overflowing stadiums and dwindling TV viewer numbers attest.

The Wallabies have lost the hearts and minds of the ‘casual’ rugby supporter and if they start losing their drawcard players too, they may as well head back to Concord Oval.
- http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/ Matt Rowley
  
  Always knew Concord was a winner!
T

I wonder, does Khoder Nasser attract dick-heads, or turn them into dick-heads after they come to him?
- rae1
  
  I think he attracts dickheads,and teaches them how to be even bigger dickheads lol
  - johnny-boy
    
    Khoder Nasser takes sportsmen who are not prepared to take crap from dickhead administrators all their life and turns them in to millionaires. I might not have him round for a bqq but I wouldnt mind him as my agent …….
    - muffy
      
      Khoder and his charges would do well to remember that a professional sportsman is only professional because of the public. Remove the public and you loose the profession. The paying public are their clients, just like any job in the world – mine, yours, theirs, the customer is king. Piss them off and you are out of a job.
      
      On the other hand – sometimes there needs to be a whistle blower. If QCs comments are on the money and internally he has exhausted all avenues – and all of this brings about positive change – then I take my hat off to him. But we all know that whistle blowers bring about change at their own expense – will we see that happen here?
    - murph
      
      Tell me Phil Hughes isn’t a millionaire!
rae1

I think Cooper has just damaged his career for good.What coach or player wants someone in the team that vents to the social network everytime things are not going right? Cooper gave himself the title of “Public Enemy No1″ ,not NZ. The only thing I see toxic in the wallaby camp is “Twitter”.The old heads within the team do their talking on the field like Sharpe and co.Coopers comments are divisive nothing more.They are better left for the end of the year review.As for going to league Hmmmm.Rugby is my game however couldnt help but admire the outstanding play during the NRL playoffs.Cooper would not cope with the physicallity of the game and be targeted even more so.He is digging his own grave RIP
goldzy

quades just saying what we all have been saying for at least the last 2 seasons, we have some great players in our squad that have been founded by coaches like jake white and ewen Mckensie then they come play a shit robbie deans brand of footy at national level and make them selves look half the player they are. Quade has not played great this year either has kurtley, but i put it down to robbie deans holding them down, sometimes you need to let these guys play there own game yes it has fucked up on us in the pass, however as soon as they get confidence every things seems to go there way, so robbie fuck off go back to new zealand and let an aussie bring as pack from the shit state you have sunk as into. I actually dont even enjoy watching the wallabies play at the moment due to how fucking boring it is;.,… Robbie Your A DICKHEAD
Patrick

I suspect that QC is off to NRL with SBW next year anyway. In which case thus might all be part of setting up a ‘positive’ ‘forced out’ exit strategy…
But I hope I’m wrong, unless KB rediscovers his form we need QC.
- BloodRed
  
  The problem with that wish is that KB never had form at 10
Me

So who has Quade’s ear and would benefit from further ARU destabilization? And also has a way with words and a cunning mind. I’d be looking no further than Big Mr Red.
Mickeyb

I would suspect there’s another motive at play as it appears to be a bid to force the ARU’s hands in negotiating his contract:

That is:
- threat to go to League if offer isn’t big ($) enough, and/or
- if there’s not changes within the culture of the ARU/ Wallabies.

Or am I giving him/ Nasser too much credit?

Don’t be surprised if you start hearing rumours/ leaks over coming days and weeks that NRL offers have been made or meetings taking place to further fuel the fire.

These speculations always appear around contract signings.

I suspect he’d be more overt and direct in his criticisms of Deans and the ARU administration if he’d already signed or made his decision to go to the NRL.
HardenUp

Quade may have a point…… but really he is part of the problem.

“There’s a lot of people who are afraid to say what they feel” so he goes and hides behind twitter and vents. what a load of crap.

My feeling is that we should say farewell to him and his over-sized ego, it wasn’t the coach that was throwing those terrible passes or dropping the ball cold.

Let him play league, hopefully he will take some of his mates with him and we can get guys in there who are really interested in the good of the TEAM!!!!
Robson

Why would Quade come out with all this stuff right at the time when his agent is trying to stitch up the best possible deal for him? I can think of only one reason. He doesn’t want a deal with the ARU. As much as he says he loves Union and being a Wallaby blah, he reminds me of that old saying – “he doth protest too much”.

My feeling is that Quade knows exactly what he’s doing and when the ARU lets him go and the ship Wallaby hits stormy seas, he will then be the author of a sefl fulfilling prophecy. By that time he will possess a fat NRL contract.

Unfortunately for him he is no Benji Marshall and I have some real problems seeing Quade adapt successfully to the League environment.
- johnny-boy
  
  Robson Benji Marshall’s defence when he started in league made Quade Cooper look like a samoan brick wall. If they can teach Benji Marshall to tackle Quade Cooper will end being the ‘Intimidator’ :).
  - Robson
    
    Very true, but I think Benji’s defence started further back from where Quade is now, and Quade’s tackling technique is very patchy so I wouldn’t be too sure that they can really iron those things out of him.
Dally M

Sounds to me like Quade just got his final offer from the ARU and he doesn’t like the look of it compared to what he got last time round when he was seen as the saviour for Aussies World Cup campaign.

And guess who he blames for that? One Robbie Deans and the style of rugby he has forced on the team.

Quade plays better under McKenzie & probably believes if he played under him at the Wallabies he would be getting what he believes he deserves.

If he isn’t going to get the chance to do that & improve his earning potential, he will probably seriously look at League.
Alan

Im a QC fan, when he is on song there isn’t a more dynamic or exciting player in the game but its pretty hilarious to hear a terribly out of form player criticising others!

Nice to hear a player sharing are annoyance and fustration with the ARU/Deans (though maybe it would have been better to keep his comments off the web and in house??) but i reckon he is done with union.

Pre the world cup he was the big ticket and the latest superstar, post world cup he was shown to be a flake under pressure and a bit of a flop – not really being worth the money or the hype

He has made no secret he wants to join up with his best bud $BW, i reckon this attack is in his and his manager’s mind a way of making all that a closer possibility. Im sure the billion dollar tv rights deal the NRL have didn’t go unnoticed either.

Piss off your employers enough, they will happily tear up whatever contract remains. I hope he stays and Dean’s goes but sadly i cant see either of that happening.
Si_Rangi

I wonder what will happen if QC follows SBW to league and then finds SBW is only there for one season as he misses his bros in the ABs and chiefs and bails back to NZ?

Khoder will be earning his commission sorting out that possibility
- suckerforred
  
  Fairly sure that QC would know that SBW is only there for one season. We all do.
spectator

Dean’s is a very good rugby coach but he hasn’t gotten everything right all the time. A few too many balls to juggle has created & perhaps compounded problems to some degree.

An helpful opposite rugby/coaching character to challenge his POV’s & coaching at times probably would have been beneficial, also more help in identifying & keeping up the different gameplay area basic skill sets and having a better feedback system for the players to contribute with, all would have helped most probably – a team is a group effort after all. These are all issues of resources in one way or another.

I personally had though Cooper and Barnes had the ingredients for making of a classic first-second run backline combo rather along the lines funnily enough of a Smith-Taylor partnership from Dean’s playing hayday in the code, all be it, in the modern era.

Despite not being their full hum, the Wallabies have consistently been involved in remarkable rugby contests, often winning too. It is only due to constant playing of the A.B.s in one of their best patches ( as much due to circumstances as anything else ) that their loose chinks in armour get repeatedly blown out while being good enough to often carry and win with over just about everyone else on a constant enough basis to deserve number 2 spot – Although i get the feeling that the Boks are coming into a good run of seasons against who ever despite their own issues also.

Things like this Quade stuff, is more a reflection that while not being the coach in anyway, the players who play the game in this professional era, should be a resource in a structure of being able to express their takes of what is happening on the game field in a way that gives a coach a bigger vista of potential game & team dynamics to look at, both on the pro and con sides – without it being personal issues.

But then again, i thought the constant chipping & grubbing against the Boks in last game first half, helped wear out their forwards with the constant having to run backwards at a faster rate due to the higher speed such play injects into the game.
- T
  
  Yeah I really get sick of people saying how stupid he is. The bloke won 5 super rugby titles, the man everyone hails as the saviour has won 1. Not that McKenzie isn’t an excellent coach too, but I bet half the people saying he should be Wallabies coach were saying he should’ve been sacked from the Waratah’s 5 years ago.
  
  Both of them certainly know a lot more than any of us commenting here!
  - suckerforred
    
    Not saying he is dumb, as you said he has won 5 Super Rugby titles.
    
    From where I sit on my couch there is one major difference between Deans & Link. Link sets the game plan to suit the players (to an extent). Deans tries to get the players to play his game plan. It is not working & something needs to give.
    
    For the record – I was shocked that Link was sacked from the Tahs & saw that as the begining of the end for them.
redbull

Moore made some scarcely veiled comments about the state of the Wallaby camp a couple of weeks ago as well.

Team management not going well?
whatwouldberniedo

side note:

Mcabe would have played inside centre in the last test played by both QC and Giteau. not sure what to make of that.
Cantab abroad

Two intersting questions/observations:

1. Just what went wrong with QRFU before the EM era? Its clearly not just a coach thing and makes a coaches environment more difficult to work in?
Deans didn’t get to pick his coaching staff? Can anyone give me an example of any pro sport wher this works?

2. Smells very much like the ABs set up in ’91 where Grizz was forced to have Hart as a co coach because of factions in the team and political pressure on the union. Grizz couldn’t get the performance from the team becuase of all the political infighting to desabilise his position and players taking alternate advice fom another coach.
Sound familiar?
No. 4 Newcastle

I’m not a Quade Cooper fan. Not as a footballer (lacking in the requisite skills for a test match player and an over inflated opinion of the ones he thinks he does have). Not as a person (refer to his ever growing list of brushes with the law).

As for his tweets:
“I am allowed from February to may sir”
Comment: Yep no worries Quade. You might be cut out for the hit and giggle of Super 15, but not test matches. You’re just not hard enough between the ears (and quite apparently, neither are your Gen Y besties). Just my opinion.

Quoting from the SMH article today:
“”Might thoughts on rugby now is who’s playing … my thoughts on other codes how the f— do we get tickets !!” one deleted post read.”
Comment: This is a typical example of the intellect of the bloke selectors have been foolish enough allow to play for the Wallabies. This sort of unclassy, rubbish comment is not worthy of a Rugby Union player of any standard, let alone one playing for the national team.

Another quote from the SMH:

“Cooper was involved in a minor car accident with fellow Wallabies Kurtley Beale and Digby Ioane at 2am on Thursday in Brisbane, just hours before Beale and Ioane were scheduled to fly to South Africa from Sydney.”

Are any of these guys really worthy of the gold jumper? It’s incident after incident after incident and it’s the same people each time!

League needs you Quade. Please go.
- boutbloodytime
  
  Well QC has let slip some tweets that even blind freddie could have given us a heads up about…
  
  It’s pretty obvious that the horrendous form slump of confidence players (primadonnas?) like QC & KB is at least partly down to an unhappy team environment…
  
  The lack of fitness by KB demonstrates a lack of motivation (or lack of confidence in the style of play) as does QC’s shooting his mouth off type tweets, then having to delete some of them after engaging the brain…but that’s not all down to Deans…in any contract, both parties need to perform for it to be a successful union.
  
  Whatever QC decides to do, I hope for his sake that he has a strategy, a clear gameplan & a Plan B to fall back on if Plan A fails…but I have a feeling that it’s not only R Deans that is lacking in this department…
DameEdnasPossum

And all this happens to coincide with Cooper playing shit.

So easy to blame everything/ one else. Sure Dingo isn’t perfect but his stats aren’t too bad actually – fucking boring sure, but a pretty good record. Cooper needs to take responsibility for himself and the way he’s played for some tie now shouldn’t earn him a bus fare – unless one way to the abbatoir.

Solution. Take Bumbling Cooper and Dingo out the back for a high velocity lead implant and get Link in to coach Australa properly.
Jimbo81

Bit of a long bow but didn’t Deans alienate himself with Giteau in the same manner?

Looks like Beale, OÇonner and Quade don’t want to play for Deans.
johnny-boy

One of the interesting myths of Australian rugby is that it doesn’t have the cattle like it used to. But what few people appreciate is that some of that so called ‘great cattle’ we had previously , also occured, not coincidentally when we had great coaches.

Rod McQueen and the likes of John Eales etc, Alan Jones and Nick Far-Jones, David Campese etc., Bob Dwyer and his world cup winning squad. Would these legends have been so successful if the coach was a rank amateur as Scott Allen had shown Deans to be ?

This may be what is worrying the current crop of star players. They haven’t had a coach that can bring the best out of them on the international stage for a long time and their opportunity to make a mark in history is fast running out, especially if Deans stays.

The ARU is clearly not that interested in supporting them so they really have no choice but to take matters in to their own hands. This is part of the reason that I have beleived for some time that sub-consciously perhaps, the ex wallabys on the ARU board don’t really want the current crop to succeed, for fear they will show them up as much more talented than they were. Otherwise they would back them to the hilt and get them a real coach.

What is also apparent is that after the Suncorp test last year in James Horwills first test as captain when the Wallabies gave the All Blacks a royal spanking, was that Deans saw the talent that was available and (like the rest of NZ) freaked that his beloved All Blacks and NZ were going to get wiped off the floor at their World Cup, which would plunge the country in to a vortex of depression, and so he set about dumbing the Wallabies down to avoid it. Choosing a lumbering No.8 like Ben McCalman who had never played 7 since high school as backup to go up against one of the best No.7′s ever, or a 12 with no real experience in that position shows Deans had no real serious intention of trying to beat NZ and the players knew it. They still know it.
- defunkt
  
  25-20 is a ‘royal spanking’? What would be a narrow victory then?
pants

QC spoke his mind and he clearly feels the same way alot of Wallaby supporters feel too. Good on him for having the balls to actually say it. Robbie just has to go. Worrying though that you say Nucifora is a shoe in post Robbie. That means the rot is all through the upper levels of the ARU now. Its starting to look like the RFU. We need the administrators to be held accountable for there performances too, just like the players.

Interesting that Robbie singled out Quade for criticism in his post match comments, so looks like a bit of retaliation going on here. At the time i thought Robbie was out of line singling out one player. And what’s with the talk of McCabe being considered the captain? I mean FFS…are him and Robbie sleeping together or something? He seems to be Robbies love buddy.
- boutbloodytime
  
  I find it interesting that Georgina Robinson refers to QC’s outbursts as a one sided slanging match:
  
  http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/australia-rugby/wallabies-real-test-of-culture-is-still-to-come-says-genia-20120925-26jh1.html
  
  Deans was able to hang the players out to dry for telling the media that the chip n grubber kicks weren’t part of the gameplan against the Boks & that he was thinking of hooking Cooper against the Pumas…that’s seen as totally acceptable and non divisive etc etc…from a guy 20+ years Quade’s senior…the coach should accept credit & blame with the team, as should the players & the ARU.
  
  Right or wrong, QC has his rant (reminiscent of Giteau’s departure in some ways) & is portrayed as a petulant child…his repeated on & off field antics are questionable at best & reflect this portrayal & his play is erratic/woefully out of form…to me it’s all a symptom of massive frustration & a lack of confidence in the playing style &/or coach for a kid who hasn’t been taught how to deal with life in the public eye.
  
  But how is his rant more out of line than the repeated rants from us supporters?
  
  Imagine having to deal with Deans’ incoherent mutterings not just in a post match interview, but every day at training- no clear gameplan, bizarre selections, no obvious plan A or B…blah blah blah that many of us have been lamenting for the past 4 years, when objective analysis provided on here for example, clearly demonstrates a hugely defensive/conservative approach (not competing for possession in defensive lineouts being just one example).
  
  Compare that to a relatively eloquent coach at state level, with a noticeably different style of play & the contrast is significant…his relationship with Link at state level definitely shows that the guy is coachable.
  
  QC probably should have handled things better…but then so should the powers that be at the ARU…the ’3 amigos’ & their recurrent brushes with the law/team protocols/misdemeanours etc are all symptomatic of a lack of support/discipline to keep these guys grounded and focussed…man management has definitely been lacking.
  
  All parties should have handled this better & if QC is lost to league or overseas, rugby in Australia will probably end up being the loser…especially if Link ends up as Wallabies coach in a few months time.
  - murph
    
    Robinson knows she’ll lose access if she doesn’t dance Robbie’s tune
bill

I cannot imagine Nucifora would be dumb enough to engage in the sort of Miachevellian machinations needed to get the coach’s job from his current position. He’d have a year, if that, and be a pariah in aus rugby forever.

Probably Quade is fed up, maybe it’s a leverage to go, maybe he’ll stay. I said before the aru and we would be poorer without him, but he’d be poorer(not in a financial sense) in any other environment as well, although that depends on there being a healthy situation in the wallabies for him.

I don’t think the tweets are only about Robbie, but he hasn’t missed him either.
Ben

Actions speak louder then words, and I see lots of words and some pretty poor actions on the field. Poor show to spill it over through twitter. Seems lame and immature to me. If you’ve got balls you take it with with those involved directly, not indirectly through the public
Jimbo81

No coach would want the Wallabies in their current state.

Under-performing nonces with chips on their shoulder playing player-power games, an injury list that reads like a world 15, an already lost RC and Bledisloe and a spring-tour that gives the peanut gallery nations their best chance at an upset in the history of competitive sport.

Deans will remain coach this season (for better or worse), Quade will pi$$off to Mungo league and next season (hopefully early) Ewen will be in charge and will select a side based on form (not politics).

With any luck, NSW will be greatly improved and all this Wallaby selection (justified or not) will make their pack formidable.

Also – some of the young centres will start to step up to replace the awful ones we currently have. OÇonner / AAC is our best centre pairing at present. We definitely are missing a Mortlock type of player in the centres and hopefully one of the following steps up:
Tomane, Inman, Johannsen, Holmes, Tapuai.

There’s some more pain to come but 2013 can only be better.
- bludge
  
  an upset is when one team is expected to win. do you honestly believe the wallabies can go into the end of year tour expecting to win all their games? those peanut chuckers will be licking their lips because they’re not even underdogs… the wallabies are so poor the odds will be even, and thats saying something.
Brumby Runner

Seems funny to me that so many are criticising Cooper for the poor performances of the Wallabies, at the WC and since. I thought, perhaps naively, that it was the coaches KPI to win games and have a team that performed well at the WC. It is Deans who has failed, not Cooper.

As for criticising him for going public with his views, had he kept them “in house” (as he probably did until recently) we the punters would be none the wiser. If there is something wrong in the camp, I would prefer to know about it than to be kept in the dark.
- suckerforred
  
  Was trying to work out how to put this. Thanks.
  
  What he said.
Gunner

Cooper’s right, it’s toxic. Fans have been whingeing for ages, it’s not the players it’s the admin and coaching staff, Keep Cooper, Dump Deans, Lift Link.
- Will he or won’t he….
  
  ARU please go ahead appoint a new coach and sit back and watch the lesson being taught to your players and especially your arrogant fans that the ABs will always be better than your wannabes…..fuck me, Cooper is finally realizing he after all is not that good and he wouldn’t even make a NZ C team if he was living in NZ but now trying to deflect attention and join in on the fire dingo train… he has nothing but someones purse or laptop he stole… can’t believe ARU wants to hold onto this fool and micro manage the f….kr cos he can’t even make a simple decision, kick or pass ah nah I’ll just drop the ball…I truly believe in Australia “league is a people’s game n union is a corporate game played only by those with gold plated spoons up their arses n went to private schools… no wonder why it’s fucked
Fulltime

1) About the great players and coaching staff always mentioned (re 1999); even the great Stephen Larkham said in an interview that they (the Wallabies) couldn’t believe their luck when France eliminated the ABs;
2) Although I think that Australia does have “the cattle”, not even the “great Link” would do much with 15 classy injured players and some of those currently playing do not have the brains to play “what’s in front of them”. These brainless players are not playing what’s in front, they are thinking what’s in their accounts.
3) Toxicity in the Wallabies camp has one specific name (Nucifora) – look what he did when he coached the Blues here in AKL.
4) If a coach / manager cannot select his own team, it doesn’t matter who he is; what matters are his actual resources.
5) Although an admirer of everything Cantabrian (I live in AKL) I thought it was good move to bring an outsider to the Wallabies camp; but I think it should have been JWhite. If there is something I like respect from the Boks is that they have no fear of the ABs – that is not the case with the current Wallabies set up – everyone involved.
6) As for QC, the guy should go; regardless of who the next coach is.
7) As for the Wallabies, I will support you guys and dream of an era or relentless domination and I do think they can do the proper business now and in the end of year tour.
mad italian flyhalf

So the current situation is:

- Several players already injuried (JOC, Genia, Pocock, Horwill, Palu, Mitchell)
- Quade Cooper now out
- Moore declared unfit
- trouble in management/player relationships
- half of the team has stomach bug

Now… if the Saffa wanted to put a couple of bears trap on the pitch, they could end the game in the warm-up!

Looking at the bright side, they will catch only 4 points anyway.

:D
Goddess

Reds have just posted a link on Twitter http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/rugby-gold/cooper-staying-red-despite-wallaby-woe/story-fnbzn566-1226481364668
http://www.youtube.com/DrugRunnerPNG KingofDubai

Coopers a great player on his day. I dont blame Deans for reeling his style for tests, its too hit and miss. For CQ to say we will only beat the AB’s by playing this style is BS.

We have been lucky of late to win some tight tests, with all our injury woes. The current AB side is impressive, with possibly 5 world XV players in it.
johnny-boy

It’s an interesting conundrum for JON. Earlier in the year he was urging Australian SuperXV sides to play a more enterprising brand of rugby, like the Reds and Quade Cooper.

Now he has got to decide whether he’s going to stick with Robbie Deans and the Wallabies playing a very boring conservative style of rugby with Berrick Barnes kicking the ball away all the time a la Waratahs.……. or Quade Cooper.

Good luck with that one JON.
Coodabeenawesome

For all the QC haters Letting loose dont get so worked up. He has talent to burn but is obviously borderline retarded. He is a talented ‘fool’. The role of a court jester is not just to entertain but to get away with criticism. Bagging him for his behaviour is beside the point. He’s a puppet. I’m a huge fan of his ability with the ball in hand but for someone like him to perform- like it or not- he has to be ‘managed’ every step of the way. The WC last year should have shown every one how clueless Deans is on that front. Letting him bear the brunt of the sheepshagger vitriol was a disgrace and a clear Fail from Deans and the whole Walls setup. I think going to league would be good for everyone involved. He’ll learn how to tackle, work hard and to get smashed week in week out. He’ll be back in union much better for it. But again for all the haters QC is what he is but his message is very Real so focus on that
- Curious
  
  Puppet or muppet ?
can’t bat can’t bowl can’t spell

I’m with all those who believe Quade can’t spell “toxic” on his own.

It’s a put-up job.
suckerforred

Another comment from the QRU –
http://www.redsrugby.com.au/NewsEvents/NewsArticles/tabid/581/ArticleID/7751/Default.aspx

Has anything been said by the ARU?

I lost all remaining respect I had for Deans when he came out after the Auckland test & as good as said that he knew we would never beat the AB’s. That might just well be true, but as a coach you just don’t bloody well say it. Publicly or privately.

I think that from this point on a barely tendable situation became down right ‘toxic’. Why should the players listen to a coach that is not at least trying to beat the best team in the world and appears to have no confidence in them. IMO Deans should not have said some of the things that he has said over the past couple of months.

Again I am not saying that QC should have said what he did where he did, but there is no point us shooting the messenger. He has poked an ants nest that needed, IMO, to be poked. We now need to hope that something good comes from it without the total distruction of our national team and the code as we know it.
Ben

Couple of points…generally our teams were very poor during the Super 15. That form has simply rolled on through to the wallabies. I don’t think you can lay all the blame at Dean’s feet. The issue is much wider. S15 performance is purely reflecting onto the Wallabies.

The other point is that its quite fascinating to ponder the similarities between Sonny Bill’s media storm (leaving the dogs) and now Quade’s media storm. The attention on Quade is immense just like it was on Sonny, and continues to surround Sonny. I just wonder if there is some merit to the “any publicity is good publicity” philosophy is at play here.
wunny

I am a fan of QC and find this younger generation’s refusal to silently put up with politics and BS refreshing. Let QC play with the Reds where he is handled well and plays well, and in the off-season with SBW in Japan instead of the Wallabies and it’s a win-win for everyone involved. He asked the ARU for leave to play the off season in Japan and they refused, hence no signed contract. The management of player’s fitness and endurance is a real concern, as revealed in ridiculously high player injury numbers. They are being handled badly. Maybe QC’s comment about “training facilities” alluded to that. They looked at the Bledisloe in Sydney to have been trained within an inch of Sunday with nothing left to give when they went out on the field at the start of the game. Lights on and no one home. They just looked shattered without any discernible team atmosphere on the field. And why is there no sports psychologist involved? Any athlete or team wanting to be the best in the world works on the mental side of outstanding performance under pressure – why not the Wallabies? They won’t beat the ABs until their thinking paradigm is changed.