We must keep Cooper if we want to win the Cup

 
Andrew Logan Columnist

By , 19 Mar 2010 Andrew Logan is a Roar Expert

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Reds Quade Cooper is tackled by Chiefs Brendon Leonard in a Super 14 Rugby match, Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand, Friday, March 05, 2010. AAP Image/NZPA, Wayne Drought.

In the final moments of the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, the match, which had see-sawed for almost 100 minutes, was finally decided by an ice-cold Jonny Wilkinson field goal.

In that moment, Wilkinson entered rugby mythology as the architect of an England triumph.

In 1991, David Campese sliced across field and darted inside John Kirwan to score, and later put Tim Horan over with his over-the-shoulder pass to defeat the All Blacks en route to a victorious World Cup final against England, in that moment cementing his own place in the pantheon.

Steven Larkham dropped an incredible 48-metre goal to oust the Springboks in 1999 and, as a result of that moment, is these days mentioned in the same breath as Mark Ella.

Jonah Lomu speed-humped Mike Catt en route to a memorable try against England in 1995 and is recalled whenever rugby people talk about defining World Cup moments.

A World Cup is made of great moments, of memorable instants, and the thing they all have in common is that the players who engineered them made their reputations by seizing a moment on the biggest stage of all.

The nature of the Cup is that only the best of the best make it to the pointy end, and it invariably takes a bit of individual brilliance to win it.

An extraordinary moment. A moment totally out of the box. A pass, a step, a run, a try. The catch is that only a select few are capable of such magic.

Rugby knows this and is counting on it to drag viewers into the rugby vortex, particularly in Australia.

This is the only country where rugby battles with three other codes of football and Australian rugby desperately needs a shot in the arm.

More than anything it needs to prove to the punters that rugby can be beautiful, can be exciting, can put you on the edge of your seat. TV deals, gate receipts and sponsorships depend on it, as do player numbers at the grassroots.

When you think of it this way, you couldn’t be more flabbergasted to find out that Quade Cooper, the talent in Australian rugby most likely to engineer such a pivotal moment at next year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, is about to come off contract, and has only one offer on the table, from a high profile French club.

It’s hard to believe, but the ARU is yet to tie up Cooper, despite him being the form 5/8 in the whole Super 14.

Not only are they yet to tie him up, they’re yet to even make him an offer at all.

The no-look pass to Will Chambers; the short ball to Anthony Faingaa; the two channel inside ball to Digby Ioane – all pinpoint passes in heavy traffic which resulted in wonderful tries that had the crowds on their feet.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to have been enough to jolt the ARU into action on new contract numbers.

Of course, you say, they’re waiting to see the outcome of his court case, because if he gets a conviction out of it, then he won’t get a European visa and the ARU will get him cheap.

In any case, he’ll want to play in the Rugby World Cup, so we don’t need to worry too much.

In any case, he cannot officially re-sign until cleared by the ARU, which makes it doubly difficult for Queensland.

If this is the logic from the national body, then it is a dangerous game to play. Early indications are that the Cooper case won’t even make it into a courtroom, and that he is likely to escape without a conviction at all.

Although the facts of the case are yet to be revealed to the public, there is reason to believe that Cooper will very shortly be free to do as he pleases.

The other issue is that Quade Cooper is very young, still only 21 years old. With these sort of years on his side, he will be at the peak of his powers in 2015, and still only just 30 in 2019, so another two World Cups are well within his grasp.

Why then would he stick around until the 2011 World Cup on a reduced ARU offer, and immediately afterward have to battle with the likes of Matt Giteau, Dan Carter, Ruan Pienaar, Stephen Brett and Morne Steyn for flyhalf spots if he wants to go to Europe?

Given the money on offer in French rugby now, he could be well advised to take the cash and you couldn’t blame him.

After all, he’ll only have a couple of weeks to make the decision, and with no other offers, and the ARU dragging the chain, what else could he do?

Of course, the ARU delaying tactics are not limited to Cooper. Peter Hynes recently went on record with his frustrations, and Benn Robinson and Wycliffe Palu have also expressed irritation at the difficulty in negotiating with the ARU.

Is it a deliberate approach?

Clearly, from a negotiation standpoint, the World Cup is a significant carrot which the ARU can use to influence players to stay in Australia.

But it’s risky. There are only a few players capable of consistently making that brilliant play which wins big games.

Quade Cooper has shown that he has the X-Factor. You might also call it the Jarryd Hayne effect.

Former league great and sports store owner Peter Wynn recently said that sales of Parramatta Eels NRL jerseys have gone through the roof over the last 12 months, and almost every one without exception, wanted the number 1 on the back with “Hayne” written above it.

This is the battle for which the ARU needs ammunition – the battle for the hearts and minds of kids in the eastern states.

League has a stack of these exciting names that kids pretend to be when they’re playing touch footy – Slater, Folau, Inglis, Marshall, Soward, Thurston and, of course, Hayne.

Rugby has…well…umm…you get my point.

If there are any kids out there pretending to be rugby players when they’re playing touch (and it’s not many), they’re pretending to be Cooper with his wide cutouts, his jump step and the no-look pass.

There’s no-one else who excites them.

If Cooper isn’t eating snails by the time RWC 2011 rolls around, he has the potential to pick apart the best defences and create something great.

Not only could he win Australia a World Cup with a moment of brilliance, but he could also be the one who kids want on their jerseys, and it’s a proven fact that rugby’s financial fortunes follow almost the exact same trajectory as the merchandise sales graph.

If you don’t agree with me on how good this kid can be, just remember what a raw flaky talent he was in 2007.

Then think about his try against Italy to win a Test in 2008. His maturity as a replacement for Berrick Barnes on the 2009 Spring Tour – when most thought he’d sink, he swam with distinction.

And finally, his dominant performances and myriad try assists in the Super 14 this year.

Now imagine how good he will be in 18 months if he keeps improving like that?

He could be the star that Australian rugby is looking for in the 2011 Big Dance, but we’ll never know if we don’t keep him.

In some ways, our battle for the 2011 World Cup starts by keeping Cooper.

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