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Quade Cooper’s grandmother has jumped to his defence, insisting the Wallabies’ “lovely” young playmaker is a misunderstood and caring character.
Cooper was again besieged by reporters at Australia’s team announcement on Thursday amid unabated hysteria over his so-called “public enemy No.1” status at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The Kiwi media refuse to get over Cooper’s on-field brushes with All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, but Millie Cooper says it’s time for everyone to move on.
“They said Quadey kneed Richie McCaw’s head. They see the bad part but they didn’t see who was pushing him … build a bridge and get over it,” she told the New Zealand Herald.
“It seems there’s a little bit of jealousy both here and over in Aussie, but as long as his teammates get on well – bugger the rest.”
Cooper’s grandmother, 76, said the Waikato-born star was anything but arrogant in her eyes.
“He’s not a whakahihi (arrogant) boy, you know; he loves children and he loves the old people – he’s got patience to be with young and old.
“He rang his granddad when he was first picked for an Australian side. He said ‘granddad, how would you feel if I told you I’m playing for Australia? His granddad said ‘go for it boy’.”
Cooper, who moved to Brisbane when he was 15, still has a lot of family living in New Zealand – including aunties and an uncle who still lives in the house he grew up in at Tokoroa.
Despite being hounded by the Kiwi press and roundly booed during Australia’s opening World Cup win over Italy on Sunday, Cooper said “there’s a lot of love” for him still in his homeland.
Especially from his family.
“They’re very proud, more proud of the fact that I’m doing something I love,” he said.
“If someone in their family is doing something that they love and doing well, then you’re going to be proud of them.”
Saying he “didn’t really care” about what people thought of him in New Zealand, Cooper also brushed off criticism from former World Cup-winning captain Nick Farr-Jones.
Farr-Jones this week labelled Cooper a “boofhead” for provoking the All Blacks with his clashes with McCaw, but the classy No.10’s focus is squarely on beating Ireland in a crucial Pool C fixture in Auckland on Saturday.
“I just looked at it in a positive manner and I just look forward to the game that we have this weekend,” Cooper said.
“Nick’s already said that we’ll be in the final against the All Blacks. So, mate, from his eyes we’re a lot better than what we are.
“We’ve got a game this weekend which we’ve got to focus on. (We need to) get through this game and another two pool games against the USA and Russia.
“So there’s a lot to go before we can even think about that.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.