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Love him or hate him, in his 38 Tests to date Cooper has won 26 (68% win percentage) as a Wallaby 10, he is only behind Larkham and Lynagh (both on 70%).
The only team he does not perform consistently well against is the All Blacks, with a 33% win rate – two out of his six appearances.
However, a one in three win against the current AB’s is about as good as it gets, the Wallabies without Cooper only managed a draw this year.
Some would argue any publicity is good publicity and certainly there has been plenty of that around Cooper and his ARU contract fiasco. Combined with the Folau acquisition this has guaranteed a sellout at Suncorp (with the Reds membership now heading north of 40,000) and will ensure even stronger ticket sales for the return match in Sydney.
This almost fever-pitch interest is a rugby promoters dream. It is a shame that these matches will not be seen on free-to-air TV.
For me, however, it is about whether opposition coaches (i.e. Sir Graham Henry) have figured out how to shut Cooper down.
Intriguingly prior to the Rugby World Cup semi-final against the Wallabies, Henry went out of his way to talk Cooper up (who was having a lamentable tournament). Henry got his way, Cooper played and the rest is now history – the All Blacks shut Cooper down and went on to win the Rugby World Cup.
Scroll forward to 2012 and Henry assists the Argentine in their Gold Coast Test against the Wallabies. The Argies focussed on limiting Cooper’s time and space and came very close to defeating the Wallabies in the process.
Cooper had a less than memorable night (was there a Henry driven defensive pattern emerging?), he was publically criticised and from there flowed the toxic environment imbroglio.
To Cooper’s credit he has had the courage to stay in rugby in Australia, where his every move will be watched. Cooper, in his second iteration will either succeed or fail on a very public stage.
Regardless, what cannot be taken away from him is that Quade Cooper is already a great Wallaby 10.
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.