Quade Cooper: stats to make you think again?

Matt Rowley October 13, 2012 76

Better than you thought?

Amongst all the hoo-ha surrounding Quade Cooper over the last few weeks, there were a few stats that got lost along the way. They were posted in the forum by Kiap, who sourced them from ESPN.com.

They made me say ‘wow’. What about you?

Wallabies since Cooper made his debut (Nov. 2008)

Cooper playing: Played 38, Won 26 (68%)
Not Playing: Played 17, Won 6 (35%)

versus All Blacks

Cooper playing: Played 6, Won 2 (33%)
Not Playing: Played 7, Won 0 (0%)

versus Boks

Cooper playing: Played 9, Won 7 (78%)
Not Playing: Played 2, Won 0 (0%)

Queensland Reds: 2012

Cooper Playing: Played 5, Won 5 (100%)
Not playing: Played 12, Won 6 (50%)

Winning record of Wallaby 10s (min. 20 games played at 10 only)

MP Lynagh 70.76%
SJ Larkham 70.34%
QS Cooper 68.42%
EJ Flatley 66.07%
MG Ella 54.00%
MJ Giteau 48.91%
PF Hawthorne 40.47%

[And the first idiot who craps on about 'statistical significance' can give himself an uppercut.]

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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 »

RugbyReg

what about statistical insignificance?

Anyway, love it. Love watching Quade play. In the end I just want to see more of him on the field playing rugby the way he plays it.
- Fletch
  
  Ill give you some testicular significance.
  
  Both inevitable and at least one of them a DEFINITE
  
  1.Quade Cooper goes to NRL and gets the absolute crap tackled out of him ( possibly also by his Bra SBW)
  
  2. He stays in union and Ewen coaches and Cooper has that ONE game where 2 or 3 mistakes quickly turns into an implosion where there is so much self inflicted pressure on him to back up his own words he just cracks and is replaced and we loose another test against the all blacks.
  
  Either way it aint gonna be pretty.
  
  Sad really – hes done it too himself.
  
  Just bad guidance when you think about.
  
  Just couldn’t have seen this happen under Macqueen for example.
TheYank

If Australia can produce a player like larkham they can do it again. World Cup is years away, and that is the ultimate goal. Let’s go young and develop some new dedicated players who don’t care more about tweets than trys.
Eddo

ah, no.

If you go here you’d also need to look at his tackle count, tackle miss, kick/pass/run ratio etc.

I bet you could look into it deeper across the full squad and attribute the wins to someone else too.

.. and, I think Quade’s benefited from missing games rather than winning them.
- Tboy
  
  Does it matter if he misses every single tackle and we still win the game?
  
  I’m with RugbyReg there love seeing him play, do his stuff!
- Peter
  
  And that player is KB
  When fit
  Have a look at the Joeys clips when he was built light like Larkham
  A fast greyhound
Cyclopath

Try saying statistical significance really fast 5 times.
The uppercut is less painful.
http://twitter.com/sportamanda Amanda

He’s a clearly a good player but he’s been badly out of form, which is why his outbursts didn’t sit well.

I think someone else on the forum [apologies!!] pointed out that from a psychological perspective, Quade was attributing failure to stable, external factors, ie the environment which was largely out of his control. That, coupled with his injuries would have been super frustrating.

He doesn’t have a magic wand – for the Wallabies to win, it’s a team thing. He probably has a point when he says if he’s picked, the game plan should be attacking. Horses for courses.
- wiggety
  
  Reading between the lines, my take on Quade blaming things like the “environment”, is his way of saying that Deans and/or JON and/or possibly others hav to go, but that he knows he can’t actually say that until they’re gone because he still has to work with them.
- Piggy
  
  He’s 9 games back from a knee reconstruction, and has now had follow up surgery. It’s not really surprising his form is patchy, it’s got worse in at least 3 of the 4 games he’s played post Super Rugby…
Jason

Wow, looks like he’s the man the steer the ship, he showed his composure at RWC in the semi. I love stats, they prove whatever you might want them to prove
- Sharkey
  
  Composure? To start the game he kicked the ball out on the full.
Drop kick

The stats prove it. Mark Ella was a woeful 10, Cooper is just brilliant!
- Touko
  
  This greybeard says it shows that our expectations have changed. Nowadays we expect the Wallabies to win nearly all the time (…or at least more than half the time in the case of games against the Darkness).
  
  I remember the days of losing, and losing, and losing again to the All Blacks and in my memory most of the other teams too (with the exception of the Springboks. We didn’t lose to those racists because we rightly refused to play them – though we knew if we had played them that we probably would have lost).
  
  So yes, in those days winning 54% felt like a great achievement.
  
  Oh yeah, and by the way Mark Ella shits all over Cooper, though Cooper is pretty good.
kronic

Will the previous 2 games, plus the next 5 give enough statistics to compare him to Beale at 10?
Jay-c

Any consideration for him at 15 with Beale at 10? Kinda allows for better defence in front line and coops’ attack from the back to be utilised? Plus coops could pop up when the double cut out is on-
Jay-c

Still wanna see their schoolboys combo again (swap) coops@10 Beale @12
The confidence these two had together jus tore teams up
Cyclopath

The winning % stats for each captain are interesting, but really difficult to compare.
The stand out for me is Lynagh.
Around Ella’s time, the Wallaby winning % was not much above 50%. We had good teams in the 80′s, but really kicked on in the professional era. Since professionalism, our win % has climbed, so we would expect the numbers to be better. Lynagh was there in the period when it was amateur, so too Ella.
The Rant

how many games has barnes had at 10?
- BloodRed
  
  Too many
  - Drop kick
    
    This year Barnes has been wallabies motm more than once and has steered and kicked us to victory in a set of tests. What has saint Quade done?
Doctor D

No it doesn’t make me think again because I always though Quade is the best #10 we have.

Stupidity says we take our best fullback (Beale) and try and make him a makeshift flyhalf.

Common sense says pick the best players in the best positions and PLAY THEM THERE.
- Rob
  
  Firstly at schoolboys is was Beale 10 cooper 15. Secondly Beale is a makeshift 15 (a damn good one) but he’s grown up his whole life playing 10.
  - bill
    
    Cooper is a better 10 even so.
the northey project

…ok, so you don’t want us to mention ‘statistical significance’…how about standard deviation???

[ABUSIVE POST EDITED - LIFT YOUR GAME]
- PM
  
  Well said, a no dickheads policy and respect for the jersey are essential criteria.
- wiggety
  
  It shits me when old farts mindlessly complain about Gen Y. Gen Y, like every generation, is a product of their environment, not the other way around. For example, when baby boomers were young, when they got a job, they had it for life if they wanted, and it was almost impossible to get fired. Now, there is no such thing as job security, and you can get dumped at the slightest whim. Gen Y has never experienced loyalty from employers, so no surprise, give none back.
  
  And for all those that wistfully hope that a new set of younger players won’t be into tweets and such, well quite frankly, you’re dreaming.
  
  Get over yourselves, accept that life has changed, and look for the positives. If you can’t see one, then let me help you… the same modern technology that brings you tweets, also makes GAGR possible.
  - johnny-boy
    
    Bingo – and I’m on the wrong side of 50 :)
  - bill
    
    Environment shmirovenment, they’re adults, them’s make their choices them’s responsible for the choices…I blame their genetics!
    - Josh123
      
      Genetics shmenetics, they all have genes, I blame Robbie Deans
    - bill
      
      not if they only wear shorts…or ahem, skirts.
  - Goldie
    
    The reason there is no job security has more to do with economics than loyalty. No employer worth their salt will get rid of a good employee – as long as you do a good job and be loyal to your employer, you will always have a job. Nothing to do with Gen Y or baby boomers. But to say representing your country is like work is totally wrong. Only the elite get to represent their country and when they stop performing effectively, they should get dumped. (although some lucky ones get the chance to pick the time they go). Trying to liken rugby to the business world is half the reason we have stuations we’ve got now i.e. too much focus on money & too many guns held to heads when players are in a percieved position of power.
- bill
  
  a no dickheads policy? to borrow from the boondock saints that usually becomes no one YOU think is a dickhead, which is not the same thing at all.
Old Tony

I love the debate that surrounds intuitive games and players as against structured games and players.

If a teams plays unstructured intuitive rugby and wins the players are lauded for their skill and confidence. If they lose they are condemned for having no game plan or discipline.

Just turn the adjectives around when assessing the results of a structured approach.

Same with players. As a Kiwi I have always admired the intuitive players and enjoyed the debate around those who couldn’t tackle. Goes right back to Alan Hewson in 1981 against the Boks who would let in three tries but score four.

What we do know is that at number 10 NZ has favoured structure and discipline which has usually ended up being Anglo-Saxon with a Polynesian back up. Think Grant Fox with Frano Botica as back up, Andrew Mehrtens with Carlos Spencer as back up.

Right now the Wallabies need to work out whether they can build a game around the intuitive players. It’s a hard call with no right or wrong answers.

There is also the larger context which gets one into deep trouble in NZ which is to talk about Polynesian and European attributes. Personally I think this is a valid debate. My perspective is that choosing the best player means looking for the mentally tough as well as looking for the biggest, fastest, and strongest. There is nothing inherently racist in my view in making the generalisation that often Polynesian players score more on the second category of attributes than on the first.

Anyway, blending the attributes and the cultures that spawn them is a big challenge which makes the whole Australasian rugby scene so fascinating.
- The Rant
  
  its the quad-deans combo that is the issue – he’s been an unstructured player playing with no support structures around him. Last 2 seasons at the reds we saw that he and genia could execute game plans with different types of structure made to beat the opposition on the day. Structures that allowed quade to do what he could when ton the attack and in all other situations a pretty thought-out blueprint seemed evident.
  
  Deans’ inability to put a gameplan, structure of play together has left quade exposed and that has led to him either melting under pressure or overplaying his hand to force something.
  These stats are all about Quade Cooper 2008-2011. Since the irish game at the world cup he’s done nothing. That’s his lack of composure and maturity. And deans lack of..well…coaching.
- bill
  
  Racial “qualities” in play styles are not a valid debate, they’re heuristic claptrap. The same thinking used to say black quarterbacks couldn’t work in the nfl.
  
  I guess Benji Marshall or Quade would be problematic for that argument as well.
  
  End of the day you can play or you can’t, you can skin the cat a few different ways is all.
  - RJ
    
    What ever happened to that big hoo-har about the crusaders only picking 3 or 4 polonesians at any one time? Did that ever get out or did it never go past the gossip columns.
    
    I don’t think this is a racist topic. In my generalised opinion, I would say Anglos do tend to be a little more conservative (in general), they wont throw that last pass etc. It’s risk/reward and there is no right or wrong game plan. Maybe it is their free spirited culture to “ave a go son” shining through on the rugby field. Any way, it makes for more entertaining rugby, and I love it.
  - Graeme
    
    I don’t think it’s complete claptrap. As far as I know it is an acknowledged fact that Maories and Polynesians have a higher percentage of fast twitch muscle fiber which does mean they tend to be stronger and faster off the mark in general. And if you are playing against that at schoolboy level you are going to have to develop other skills if you are going to progress on to the next level.
    - bill
      
      well maybe it’s a fine distinction but I find it a bit lazy to say all this lot do or are capable of is to play in this fashion and all that lot do are that mode of play.
      
      Sure if you’re big and quick you’re going to use it, if you’re quick and little you’ll use that, it just seems a little proscriptive to start saying that’s all that they’ll do or are capable of, end up playing like south africans.
- eccles
  
  I’ve thought for a very long time now that our young players in all major sports are being overcoached to buggery. We set up central coaching institutes to teach young players the sport as per the manual, and these sausage factories finish up producing, well, sausages. Kids with genuine natural talent who do things a little differently have to toe the line, or risk being ostracised. Our coaching setup takes kids who are confidence players and proceed to kick the confidence out of them: Hughes and Smith in cricket, and to the point Cooper in rugby. If Doug Walters or the Ella brothers had to come through the current set up, it’s doubtful that they would ever have played for Australia.
  I don’t give a rats whether Cooper is Gen Y or Gen Gulargambone or how much he upsets the establishment; without him the Wallabies are a poorer team. Anyone who can throw 25m reverse flicks can’t be all bad.
Nick G

I find that most people love Cooper but hate Beale, or love Beale and Hate Cooper. I am of the former persuasion.

Cooper is out of form at the moment, but he is by far Australia’s best 10. The team will succeed if they can select players who can keep up with Quade’s game, and aren’t afraid to receive behind-the-back flicked offloads.

Barnes is so terrible, it baffles me how he gets picked for the team. He either kicks away possession, or is tackled before he can make a pass. Back in his Refs days he could at least tackle, but now he doesn’t even have that going for him.

Beale is a decent fullback, but like Barnes, tends to stupidly kick away position when playing at inside backs/midfield. He seems to only have two game types: brilliant or awful.

Once Cooper fully recovers (mentally) from his knee injury, it won’t be long before Australia is on song again. Another thing I would like to see is Robbie Deans actually picking a decent 12 for once. Barnes has to go, and needs to be replaced with either a strong ball carrier (Tapuai played well against the Pumas), or another playmaker to act as first receiver when 10 has dropped back to fullback, or caught up in a breakdown. Mike Harris would be ideal.

Or, David Pocock as 12, with Gill and Hooper at 6 and 7
- PM
  
  The statistics are interesting, I think it is more of a coincidence for the Wallabies.
  
  I’m of the latter opinion (love Beale hate QC) and believe strongly in the no dickheads policy.
  
  You don’t build a game plan around one player, it is why it is a team sport and requires the whole team going in the same direction and working together to achieve success.
  
  “Beale is a decent fullback, but like Barnes, tends to stupidly kick away position when playing at inside backs/midfield.”
  
  I think KB showed in 2010 and 2011 he is one of the worlds best fullbacks, although 2012 hasn’t been a great year for him but we still have 5 tests to go. In terms of kicking yes Barnes was guilty but QC is the most guilty offender here, it often looks like he doesn’t know what to do and isn’t prepared to take the ball up so he does something stupid that turns the ball over or takes us backwards, his kicking options at times are appalling.
  
  You ask for a strong ball carrier at 12, what is Pat Macabe then? I do agree we need a ball player at 12 but not sure we have any viable options right now and not convinced at this stage that JOC or Tapuai would be the answer, time will tell.
  - Piggy
    
    If you have a no dickhead policy it’s hard to see how you can have Beale in the team, or is being on assault charges not dickhead behavior…
    
    I suppose Quade led him astray…
- wiggety
  
  Really? I love Cooper AND Beale. They are both geniuses. They have both had recent form fluctuations, but if you can’t see that both of them have had periods of world class legendariness, then you are blind.
- Drop kick
  
  Unlike Copper, Barnes has been Aust’s motm several times this year and has been responsible for winning tests through his place kicking. His defense is superb and he is a true team player. Just because he left Qld is no reason continue the mindless vendetta against him.
  - bill
    
    unfortunately his out of hand kicking and options have led to wins …for the opposition, cheetahs waratahs 2011 for one. A decent player all the same. Shame he’s not quicker.
    - Rob
      
      Its time we all realise cooper causes far more problems both on and off the field than he is worth. Let him go wherever he likes and become a nobody. Beale 10, JOC 15. Centres is our biggest issue. SBW and nonu are better ball runners, ball players and defenders than any of our options. How can they both be better at all 3 assets than everyone we have?
- Patrick
  
  I love both, I think QC is currently our best but I think that Beale is potentially our best.
baldwid

Cooper is a phenomenal player! Does not seem to mesh with the Wallabies game plan but for those who suggest that at international level he does not function – that is completely ignorant and uninformed.

Against the Crusaders on multiple occassions he as dominated and they virtually field an AB’s side every week. Against the Boks prior to the RWC he was magnificent.

Against France we posted our biggest score ever.

Against the AB’s before the RWC we were 2 from 4.

It stands to reason, from a logical POV that something happened before the RWC in the Wallabies camp that changed the game plan and obviously moved away from Quades style – that is very obvious and does not take a genuis to see.

What is abundantly clear though is that (prior to his comments recently) Quade has been a Talisman for teams that he has played in. The wallabies are better with him and the Reds are clearly better with him in the side. Players love playing with him and defences hate marking him. Love him or loathe him he certainly gives any team he plays in a chance to win.

From my POV the reason Graham Henry and co always went on about the weaknesses in his game was not because of those weaknesses, it was aimed at putting pressure on a player who they knew could inflict serious damage to their team. Barnes has plenty of weaknesses however i never heard them say pressure him so that he resorts to aimless kicks. They never went on and on about how weak Giteau was and put pressure on him to run across field.

I never understood why people criticise QC in terms of playing, obviously defence needs work but is considerably better this year and when tasked with a solid, attacking pattern he is dynamite.

On another note does anybody else think that although NZ are unbeaten and number 1, they are very paranoid and very frightened of what the Australian side could do to them??

I have noticed on multiple occasions that we seem to only get the more intimidating haka – kapa o pango – when every other team seams to get the normal Haka. I know that this might seem small but we also have to lineup against the really emotive acapella version of the national anthem. Every other team plays them when they have full backing music and it does not sound as powerful. We also seem to be the only country that they comment on regularly in terms of what they think of our players and their weakness.

I know that these are all small and it could be suggested that I wear a tin foil hat but i think its a definite ploy against the Aussie team. I trully believe that we are the only team that can beat the AB’s and i think that they know it and use every possible trick and tactic to get an advantage!! It seems to me that they really put alot of effort into beating us and making sure we stay down!!
- BloodRed
  
  Make room under the tinfoil Baldwid, I’m with you
- ‘Boutbloodytime
  
  No matter how many times they win, little brother will ALWAYS be little brother…
- jezacbhs
  
  Baldwin:
  
  You’re in lala land. We did Kapa o Pango in Argentina and South Africa this year.
  
  Australia does not traditionally hold the position of NZs biggest rugby rival. That spot clearly goes to “the old foe”, South Africa. They have the best winning percentage against us, and we didnt win a test series there until 1996.
  
  In 2009 they beat us 3-0. No, let me clarify – they fucking dominated us. Australia has never dominated us in the same way a good South African team can/has.
  - baldwid
    
    I knew someone would say that – yes the boks did beat you guys 3-0 but is was not because they played better rugby, if you remember back that far you should also remember that the laws completely suited the Boks and their shit style of Rugby! Fast forward to now and they are getting pumped using the same style, at least by the AB’s!
    
    I know that they are traditionally the toughest rival but outside of their physicality they offer very little to worry about. Not in any way suggesting that their physicality is not effective, but they clearly have no idea whatsoever about attacking rugby and backline play – historically!!
    
    What saddens me is that I think honestly this might be changing, to the point where we (Wallabies) are playing with no clue how to attack and the Boks are starting to find some rhythm, albeit slowly!! We are becoming a poorer version of the Boks, without the piggies to dominate!
    
    Acknowledged about the Haka (which i thought was surprising in Arg) but they always do it against us. I just have a feeling that after that game in Honkers their was some real worry setting into the AB’s camp. Cast your mind back to about 6 months before and then leading up to the RWC and think about what people were saying about Australia – both here and away from home. We were the only team to beat the AB’s recently, we won Super Rugby against an AB’s packed crusaders side (at the time people were commenting how could you improve the Crusaders, compared to adding players like Pocock, Beale, JOC to the Reds when they became wallabies – if that makes sense – essentially their was massive upside for us) , then we win the Tri Nations, and people were genuinely excited about our prospects in the RWC and were saying that our backline was as dangerous if not moreso than the AB’s backline!
    
    Seems to me that all of that really got to the Kiwis and they made concerted efforts to pick at us and got lucky when they got stuck into Quade and it worked!! Of course it does not help if you do something for the team (smash that filthy McCheat) and dont get any public support, just silence! No wonder he did not feel comfortable!! I am gen Y and the problem is Gen Y have no nuts, stand up and be counted, support your mates and dont be pussy’s and dont be afraid to mix it with the AB’s!!
Coatsie

C’mon Gagger; he’s like the going through the turnstiles at Luna Park; colourful, expensive, flashy, lets everyone through and all in a big mouth.

Hello – Campo..? Thoughts..?

None. Lights are one, no ones home.
- p.Tah
  
  If that’s a prerequisite for a good fly half, I’m heading out to my back yard to see if my dog has produced us a new number 10
Mickeyb

Forget Cooper – he’s already made up his mind and you’d hardly change a whole team for one player. Beal was/ is impressive in 10 – now we need attackers running off him.

You’ve got to fight to earn the right to wear the gold and Cooper appears to be a toxic element to the team!

IMO we have enough quality backs and we should start supporting those combinations to form.

Personally, I’d give my right nut to see the ARU develop a fast track skills programs for props, locks and hookers well before the next RWC! Including targeting other sports and codes.
Steve

This phenomena was once known as the “Stephen Larkham effect”, it shall henceforth be referred to as the “Quade Cooper effect”
- Trys NOT Kicks
  
  Blasphemy!!
peterlala

Matt, I said, Wow, too. Compelling stats. Thanks for that.
johnny-boy

For a guy playing under a coach and some players he can’t stand and has trouble working with, the stats are remarkable.

Put him with a coach and a team that he can get excited and inspired by and it’s pretty obvious he’ll end up with the best win ratio of the best we have ever had.

Question is, how smart is Michael Hawker ?
Kiap

Great article, Matt (actually Jays Myth over at PR posted on this before me). He actually he had QC’s winning percentage playing No.10 at 70.37%, which according to ESPN at 19 wins from 27 matches would be right.

Certainly interesting stats to keep the discussion rolling on.
Mick Coogan

I think it’s good that Matty bought up the stats. I think both the ARU and NZRFU under utilized players like Cooper and Spencer. Both would have been excellent impact players. Sure it’s always delicate bringing on a fresh first 5.

Nonetheless, I fully agree with Campo http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/06/20/campo-make-cooper-ultimate-impact-player-play-bench/ Cooper without the pressure and a license to roam in those situations would see him at his best.
Waratahjesus

Im not sure of the stats significance to anything.

Not many people have said Quade can’t play or is not needed due to form. They are against him as he has publicly talked down the sport and said he wouldn’t play for his country if selected.

Fast forward to this week, Hawker revealed that the please explain letter the ARU sent him 2 weeks ago has recieved no reply. If Quade was serious with his concerns and hasn’t taken them to the players rep,senior players,coaching staff, ARU and now a month on still hasn’t bothered to address the issue behind closed doors then it would seem he actually has no desire to address the issues at all.

The Stats above actually could be used to disprove Quades thoughts that the team doesn’t use him. Deans has coached every game Quade has played, therefore Quade is important to deans game plan and deans struggles to win without him.

Are we saying that from now on an individual is bigger than the team based on winning percentages? Are we saying that Quade is the reason we won the games he was involved in?
fin

The interesting thing about these stats are that they are only really relevant if Cooper has played his last game for the Wallabiers and we want to compare him to other past 10s.

If he comes back his sats will change compared to these other guys, and if you want to test his competence to do the job now you need to compare his stats against other contenders (Beale, Barnes, JOC, who ever) whether they have played 20 games there or not. Because lets face it if Bernie or Noddy were still available we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

If you want some interesting comparisons try win percentages of Cooper v Barnes at 10 or how Cooper stacks up to these other guys at the 20th game. Or compare him agaionst the other 10s playing around the world at the moment.
Graeme

I’m surprised that Ella’s percentage was so low. I was young at the time, but thought we were quite a lot stronger then than his figures suggest.

It is to bad for australian rugby the comments made by QC. His scorched earth comments mean that he cannot be selected again, at least until everyone forgets and moves onto the next story. So he is un-selectable for at least the next 12 months and probably longer. But I do think the stats reflect his influence on the game. The first game against argentina sums up his need. I don’t think I have ever seen a worse performance than his first 10 minutes of that game, and I don’t think any rugby site gave him more than 4 out of 10 (which was generous) for that game. But at the same time he set up 3 out of the 4 tries we almost /did score.

Unfortunately, because of his immaturity in the media, we won’t be seeing him in “yellow” for at least the next year or so. But I do hope that some type of reconciliation can be found that allows him to play for the Reds for the next 3 years. And in a year or two, once everyone has forgetten what he said, he is accepted back into the Australian team. Because I really don’t see us beating the AB’s without him on a song.

BTW: I would love to know Bernies record with the Brumbies. I think I heard, in his final season, Brumbies won 80% of games that he played and lost 80% of games that he didn’t play through injury.
MyRugby Mate

Cooper… I’m no expert but man… respect the jersey and the CODE.

Just go.
http://www.drugrunnerpng.blogspot.com.au KingofDubai

Interesting stats surprised me actually. But QC – pull your head in and be a team player. Theres a complete lack of class about the way you conduct yourself- you’re a complete self promoter.

You could learn a thing or two from stalwarts like Sharpe, AAC, TPA among others who have the highest regard for playing test rugby and respect the code.

He’s whinging about not being able to play his own game under Deans- for gods sake if Link ever becomes coach and lets QC carry on like he does, playing high risk test rugby we’ll be completely screwed. Test rugby is not for show ponies.
- Drop Kick
  
  I think it is interesting Link has said nothing publicly about Coopers comments. Cooper has put him in a very difficult position, I don’t think he’d be happy.
Bill

Balwin, good comment I agree. The only opposition the ABs, including ex players from by gone eras, talk about is the WB.

Well be worried, very worried as we are coming maybe not this year maybe not next but we will be back and Richie or no Richie we’ll get you.

BTW I’d have Cooper &Beale in my team any day because you’ll win more games with them than without.
idiot savant

As Sir Richie said in his book, people get found out at the highest level. QC has been found out. And he might know it, which would explain the blame game he started. Above writers are correct, the ABs were plenty worried going into the WC and decided to use shooters and constant pressure on him. It worked. They worked out he doesnt side step when he does his little jump so they just run straight at him. Now all the other sides are doing it. The ABs werent worried about his kicking so they just wanted to pressure the pass – his one exceptional gift.

What Sir Richie wont say – and it is a mark of just how good QC was – is that they thought so highly of him they built a game plan around neutralising him.

As someone said, the stats from the RWC on are not good. The challenge is there for QC to find something to counter the pressure. Ella was another player who got found out. He tried to run from 5/8 just like school and Randwick. Australia lost test matches. But what made him great was he realised his limitations, just like Steve Waugh. He saw that wingers got a lot more ball when Paul McClean was 5/8 and started passing and used his elusive running backing up out wide.

Its sad that QC would attack Deans who built his whole game plan around him at the RWC when we might have troubled the fragile ABs if we had a plan B. But the challenge is there for QC if hes good enough. Can he realise his limitations and become great?
- johnny-boy
  
  I think it would be more accurate to say Deans tried to build Cooper round Deans’ conservative game plan, despite saying before the cup he wanted to build on the Reds success. It’s hardly a surprise Cooper looked confused. Especially with so many conservative Tahs in the team. .
  - Bay35Pablo
    
    Nice one johhny boy, blame that on the Tahs too.
    
    Curtains fading and cows confused? That’s not daylight saving seeping across the border again is it? Damned Tahs!!!!
Bay35Pablo

And THAT’S the reason the Kiwis hate him. They fear him. For all his tweeting, gum yapping social media bull, the boy has that Campoesque element that puts the fear into them. You can train and structure to try to deal with and minimise that X factor player for the opposition, but you can never guarantee removing it.
Cantab abroad

Quote from idiot savant “What Sir Richie wont say – and it is a mark of just how good QC was – is that they thought so highly of him they built a game plan around neutralising him.”.

Or is it perhaps as professionals they saw weaknesses they could expolit.

He is a very talented player, there is no doubt, but every player has weaknesses its just can the oposition find a way to exploit it. Even Ireland managed that.

What I find interesting in these discussions is how often his Reds form is used to express his ability at Test level. There is no correlation other than if you can’t handle Super rugby pressure you wont handle test rugby. On the other hand if you can handle super rugby pressure you MIGHT handle test pressure. I think Quade can handle tests against many teams but not teams which can put pressure on his pack.
rugblyloverfromanothermotherland

Quade is an amazing player, his attitude is not always in the right place, however if Australians spent half the time supporting their team that they do criticizing it….. you might get more enthusiastic players and better performances.
Zeno

‘EJ Flatley 66.07%’ — oh jeez, please tell me his middle name isn’t John.

As for Quade Cooper, all he’s ever needed is a dominant forward pack to give him a little space and time. Same for KB and BB and all five-eighths… but QC is the best of the crop.