Queensland Reds players Quade Cooper (l) and Peter Hynes (r). AAP Image/Dave Hunt
At an official rugby function in Queensland not so long ago, a slightly if not deliberately dishevelled Quade Cooper is reported to have ambled in, flopped down at a table, Reds tie askew, and introduced himself to the seated by saying with feigned nonchalance ‘Gidday, I’m Quade Cooper.’
I am reliably told that a highly respected Queensland rugby legend was sitting at the same table; he had seen enough of Cooper on the playing field to convince him that Quade Cooper was not much more than an uppity, mullet-preening, tattooed pretender who played rugby like a headless chook.
He gave Cooper a steely look and then said in effect ‘Outside, son. We need to have a little chat.’
Cooper obliged, perhaps with an indifferent shrug of the shoulders.
Outside, the grizzled old legend tore strips off him, reamed him right out, not least for the fact that by his dress and his demeanour he was showing complete disrespect for the Reds’ tie and its proud legacy forged by his predecessors in blood, sweat and broken bones.
I gather Kid Cooper appeared shaken when he resumed his seat at the table.
Not long afterwards, he was arrested and charged with burglary.
I well know where Quade Cooper comes from, a tough town called Tokoroa on New Zealand’s volcanic plateau not far from Rotorua.
I have driven through it many dozens of times, maybe stopped only now and then reluctantly to buy a pie.
In winter, it can be one of the bleakest places you’ll ever see – and freezing cold.
Yet, I am assured that despite all outward appearances, Tokoroa is notable for its extraordinary sense of community.
Perhaps that should not surprise given the high proportion of Maori and Islanders who live there. They have an admirable sense of extended family.
And interestingly, it has provided some six All Blacks since the 80s, including the current All Black hooker Kevin Meleamu and centre Richard Kahui.
And now a Wallaby: Quade Cooper.
I am the first to admit that it used to annoy me just watching Cooper play, especially his strange jumping up and down on the spot, a sort of goose-without-the-step or yes, a chook without a noodle.
There was also an unnecessary and totally unappealing arrogance in his demeanour.
I was at a loss when Cooper was included in the Wallabies end-of-year European tour in 2008. But what I did not know was that, during that tour, new coach Robbie Deans saw something in Cooper that most of us had missed: genius.
Of course, the 2010 Super 14 and the departure of Berrick Barnes to NSW along with the sensational rise of Will Genia changed everything.
Cooper was installed as flyhalf and spent the season playing the house down – with new maturity and increasing, if not imperious, authority.
He has become an absolute joy to watch. He has restored Australian rugby to what it once was: open, running, vibrant and exciting.
Yes, there are influences of his childhood hero, Carlos Spencer, in the way he plays. Of course there are.
But it’s more than that. Quade Cooper is playing an unshackled style of rugby as though he has nothing to lose – or everything to gain.
Moreover, he appears to have genuinely turned his life around, particularly in regards his fondness of the demon drink.
Redemption like this is a wonderful, inspiring thing.
Mind you, I am not sure how he has managed it, given what is hanging over his head ahead of his court appearance next month.
For a cold, sober reality check, here it is:
QUEENSLAND CRIMINAL CODE 1899 – SECT 419
419 Burglary
(1) Any person who enters or is in the dwelling of another with intent to commit an indictable offence in the dwelling commits a crime.
Maximum penalty–14 years imprisonment.
(2) If the offender enters the dwelling by means of any break, he or she is liable to imprisonment for life.
(3) If–
(a) the offence is committed in the night; or
(b) the offender–
(i) uses or threatens to use actual violence; or
(ii) is or pretends to be armed with a dangerous or offensive weapon, instrument or noxious substance; or
(iii) is in company with 1 or more persons; or
(iv) damages, or threatens or attempts to damage, any property;
the offender is liable to imprisonment for life.
(4) Any person who enters or is in the dwelling of another and commits an indictable offence in the dwelling commits a crime.
Maximum penalty–imprisonment for life.
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