All Blacks remain wary of Quade Cooper

Critics may have their doubts but the All Blacks remain wary of the threat Quade Cooper poses in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup semi-final.

Wallabies playmaker Cooper has been below his brilliant best through the World Cup and had his worst game of the tournament in the 11-9 quarter-final win over South Africa.

His kicking game was off and he appeared down on confidence, while the New Zealand crowds continue to boo him whenever he gets the ball because of his past treatment of All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw.

The booing is sure to increase in volume when he plays against New Zealand.

However All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith said the hosts still respected his ability highly.

“He’s played pretty well against us,” said Smith on Tuesday.

“He’s mercurial, he’s dangerous. If he has a really good day, then you’re in trouble. We’ve got a lot of respect for him.”

Smith also noted that players’ form could turn around quickly, citing the case of All Blacks winger Zac Guildford, who had a poor game in the 25-20 Tri-Nations defeat to Australia in Brisbane in August.

“He got a chance in the World Cup and had a blinder,” he said of Guildford’s four-try display against Canada in a pool match.

“Quality players come right pretty quickly. You have to respect that and you have to respect him and the fact that he’ll be tough for us on the weekend because he’s a hard man to mark.”

Smith said he didn’t believe it was possible to make assumptions on whether the Wallabies’ tactic of kicking possession away against the Springboks indicated a lack of confidence.

The All Blacks and Wallabies knew each other well from their regular contests down the years and he was sure it would be “a massive encounter” at Eden Park.

“As with any team, you have some expectations about what’s going to happen, how they are going to play,” he said.

“But when you enter the field, you can’t believe that. You just have to assess what’s in front of you and so I’m sure they will bring everything they’ve got on Sunday, just like we will.”

Smith said mental strength would be the key to victory, as it was with all sudden-death matches in the latter stages of tournaments, be they in Super Rugby, Europe’s Heineken Cup, or the World Cup.

“It’s about the strength of your will,” he said, adding that tournaments threw up all sorts of things that couldn’t be controlled, like injuries.

“It’s the same for the other teams. It’s not who you’ve got in the team, it’s what you’ve got inside you that counts at this point and that’s what will win it.”

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