The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Has Quade Cooper made the right call for the right reasons?

8th December, 2012
Advertisement
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
Expert
8th December, 2012
97
1650 Reads

If Quade Cooper only re-signed with the ARU in the belief Robbie Deans will be sacked as Wallaby coach sooner than later, forget it.

Deans will be the coach against the Lions next year, and depending on that series, will coach the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship, and take the men in gold on their end of year tour to the northern hemisphere.

Then his contract expires. Then and only then will Deans be at risk, but that’s 13 Tests away.

Cooper has a bigger problem than Deans. The Queenslander is no automatic selection in any Wallaby lineup from here on in unless he starts earning his spot.

And he has 13 Tests to do it next year.

I can’t see Deans lasting beyond December 2013, if in fact he wants to. My gut feeling is his birth-place Christchurch looms large in his future plans.

One thing for sure, Robbie Deans is no coward. He’s copped plenty of flack, none more so than on The Roar, but he’s never wavered once during his watch.

Having said that, five years and 84 Tests will be a fair dig, the most of any Wallaby coach in the professional era ahead of Eddie Jones’ 57, Rod Macqueen’s 43, and John Connolly’s 25.

Advertisement

The big difference is the win percentage – Macqueen 79.1, Connolly 64, Deans currently 59.2, and Jones 57.9.

Deans has the chance to improve on his win percentage in 2013, starting with the Lions during June and into July, then the Rugby Championship against the All Blacks, Boks, and Pumas from August 17 to October 5 and the four internationals at the end of the year.

Only then will Cooper possibly have his undoubted wish to have Ewen McKenzie as Wallaby coach, but there’s a lot of water to flow under the bridge yet.

close