Wallabies five-eighth Quade Cooper hopes he can form a partnership with halfback Will Genia as enduring Steve Larkham’s and George Gregan’s after the pair were named to play alongside each other in Saturday’s second Test against England.
The ANZ Stadium clash will mark the first time the Reds duo line up as Australia’s halves pairing at Test level after Genia was named by coach Robbie Deans on Thursday in the No.9 jersey.
“They’re big boots to fill and even being compared to guys like that (Larkham and Gregan), it’s something that’s going to take me and Will a long time to really come into that,” said Cooper, who had a star turn in the 27-17 first Test victory.
“They played over 50 Tests (together) and we’re coming up to 15 Tests and our first Test together so it’s a pretty big comparison to have but it’s one that we aspire to.
“It would be a great goal. To be held in the same regard as those guys, Larkham and Gregan, that’d be a goal that I’ll definitely set for myself.”
Genia however is just happy to be returning to the starting halfback role after watching from the bench as NSW No.9 Luke Burgess turned in a strong performance against the English in Perth.
The 22-year-old said he was fully fit after a medial ligament strain suffered in the final round of the Super 14 and he was looking forward to taking on England in Sydney.
He said he had fond memories of the last time he played against England, scoring a try in the 18-9 win for the Wallabies at Twickenham on last year’s spring tour.
“Hopefully we can play well on Saturday and create some more,” he said.
“There was every chance I could have been on the bench again, I thought he (Burgess) was outstanding and I’m just grateful to have the chance to play some footy.”
Deans said sending Burgess back to the bench along with fellow Waratah Berrick Barnes, who makes way for Matt Giteau to earn his 80th Test cap, had been a tough call to make.
“To be honest it was probably one of the harder selection processes I’ve encountered, most evident at nine, 12 and 15,” he said.
“But good problems to have … they understand it’s about the squad functioning effectively and they all own a piece of it regardless of who gets the opportunity to represent the group.
“It was a great performance from Burge, no doubt about it. It was one of the best halfback performances we’ve seen in a long time.
“Gits obviously was named in the first instance last week, Barnesy also has given a lot to the group in the last 10 days.”
Not tough for Deans was sticking with the forward pack destroyed by England in the scrum in Perth, given injuries have restricted his options.
And having backed the inexperienced front-row of Salesi Ma’afu, Saia Faingaa and Ben Daley, Deans is eager to have his faith repaid.
“We’ve kept faith and, as I referred to post-match last week, we’re confident that this group will be better for that first outing,” Deans said.
Australia’s only other change from the squad that tackled England in Perth was the recall of Adam Ashley-Cooper from an ankle injury to the bench at the expense of Waratah Kurtley Beale.
Wallabies: James O’Connor, Digby Ioane, Rob Horne, Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell, Quade Cooper, Will Genia; Richard Brown, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom (capt), Nathan Sharpe, Dean Mumm, Salesi Ma’afu, Saia Faingaa, Ben Daley. Res: Huia Edmonds, James Slipper, Mark Chisholm, Matt Hodgson, Luke Burgess, Berrick Barnes, Adam Ashley-Cooper.
Chuck
Guest
Genia = massively overrated. If Burgess played like he did last night the roarers would be all over it.
Frank O'Keeffe
Guest
Has there ever been a rugby player to hurt his legacy by staying on too long like Gregan? People need to watch Gregan 97-01 and re-think the way they speak about him. Even in the last two games of the 2003 World Cup Gregan was abbsolutely stunning. Gregan had a maturity, a sense of direction, that Genia doesn't have. And he was a winner. He knew how to win the big games. A tremendous big match player.
Mike
Guest
Peter K - Gregan was crap? Were you born after the year 2002? Jesus, Gregan was amazing. It took 3 years for opposition to recognise his flick pass to Melon, then another few for halfbacks to copy it. He is indesputibly our best defending halfback and ranks up there with the best runners. An incredible team motivator and a bloody nut of a competitor - how many games did we win in the last minutes while he was playing? Yes there were other great competitors in the team, but he absolutely embodied that never-die spirit. In his latter years, he had slow distribution and his style of play was studied to the nth degree, so his moves were somewhat more predictable - However, he remained the team as he was still the best we had at the time. I know Farr-Jones and K Catchpole were terrific. So was Gregan
Billy
Guest
Gregan was crap? And how have you come to determine that Peter K? Because he didnt like the media and wasnt from NSW?? One of the worst calls ive read on ths site. well done!
Frank O'Keeffe
Guest
Let's see how they go together at the Test level for a few Tests before we start talking about dynasties. The Celtics are a dynasty. The Lakers are a dynasty. Genia and Cooper haven't played one test together as a 9-10 combo.
Peter K
Guest
hahaha Apelu Noddy was a great player, far more than an average player. I think Larkham was better but that should not demean the feats of the previous players. Gregan was crap. I think Genia is a very different and better player than Gregan already. IMO Cooper is a very similar player and least in playing style to Larkham. The question is can he perform under pressure and eliver in the big matches.
Mick of Newie
Guest
Far be it for me to wade into a rugby debate but even I remember Farr-Jones and Noddy winning the 91 world cup. I even recall Noddy's role in the qf try against Ireland.
Apelu Tielu
Guest
And where is McGibben now? There were better combinations than Gregan and Larkahm? It should become obvious to you that your criterion(ia) of assessing the best combo is different from others. I for myself based my assessment on the influence the combo made on the team and the team's achievement as a result. If we go by the latter, then the Gregan/Larkham's combo has no equal in the history of Australian rugby: they won all the trophies that were available and more, both at the provincial and international levels; Noddy was only an average player, and I hope QC doesn't want to be just an average player. But I am aware of the great jealousy against Gregan and Larkham, especially Gregan, by those outside the ACT and south eastern NSW region.
Gary Russell-Sharam
Guest
It would be hard to compare these players to each other, Genia/Cooper are both quite different players to Gregan/Larkham, however let us wait a bit to see what they are like after a year or two at this level. It was only two years ago I attended a Brothers Wests game in Brisbane where I saw Will Genia blitzed by Brendan McGibben, admittedly Genia has improved mightly since then and so has Cooper but consistency is the core that you want. In their day Gregan and Larkham were very consistant proving time and again that they were the goods. Personally I would like Genia to try to emulate Nick Far-Jones as a role model that would be something to really aspire to, and Cooper might try and emulate Noddy Lynagh, not that I think Bernie is bad but there have been better combinations than Greagan and Larkham. People have such short memories.
inkosi
Roar Rookie
You're right let's not get ahead of ourselves. So far at S14 level they have been great and beaten the top sides. If they don't get big heads and build on what they've got they can go all the way. Will also be interesting to see if the scrum has improved over the week as some would have us believe.
warrenexpatinnz
Guest
WNM with natural progression and with good coaching both Genia and Cooper should evolve further as both extremely young men in their respective positions but have also shown considerable skill at all levels against all oppositon (exclude Cooper against ABs). One area of Coopers game which I don't think gets enough kudos is his abiltiy to take a big hit, or take a hit and keep his balance and momentum. Dan Carter is very similar. I know Cooper needs to sure up his low body tackling skills but with very good defenders such as Genia/Burgess, Gitteau and Barnes inside and out this is rarely taken advantage of.
Chuck
Guest
Genia certainly has expectation set high - hopefully he can live up to them
Who Needs Melon
Guest
We've got to be wary of getting carried away - we have been known to overhype things once or twice here haven't we? The real test for these two will be the tri-nations - players that know them well and won't be dazzled by the flash and pace. Here's hoping.
sixo_clock
Roar Guru
Good Luck to both of them, great combo; Genia should be captain one day and Coop needs to get some speckled headgear going and we'll have deja vu (all over again). Difference being that I suspect Quade to be a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Lets hope that is right because although Bernie's strength was his seemingly effortless ability to burst through gaps Quade appears to really enjoy the tight stuff. He must be able to tune into the intent of the defence and then switches the point of attack, Bloody Magic sometimes.