What a difference a week makes. Last week the partisan Queensland rugby media were writing off Quade Cooper for poor kicking, poor tackling, poor passing, poor running, you name it they claimed it.
Now after guiding the Reds to a terrific victory over the Bulls, with help from James Horwill and Will Genia, Cooper is back in favour.
What this tells us is that form is a moveable feast but class is permanent.
I have been a constant critic of Cooper as a number 10. I have also been a constant advocate of his rugby skills and from time to time have indulged myself by calling him the ‘Paginini of the Pass.’
I have argued that Cooper’s best position in Test rugby may well be on the wing, as a Shane Williams/David Campese striker and playmaker inside the red zone.
There are two problems with Cooper as a number 10. One of them is his tackling, or to be more precise his reluctance to make effective tackles.
The other problem is that his rugby genius is more off-the-cuff, rather like his hero Carlos Spencer, rather than organising his team’s attack around a well thought-out game plan.
So with Cooper, in the past, there have been too many magic passes either attempted and sometimes achieved in terrible positions for the receiver.
This sort of pass-the-parcel play can work even in the high-tempo stress of Super Rugby. But in the even more stressful atmosphere of Test rugby disaster lies, as it did during the 2011 RWC, when the playmaker keeps on putting players under even more pressure from his off-loads than he is under.
This season I’ve noticed that Cooper has been under-playing his hand for the Reds. While some commentators found this to be a sign of a loss of confidence, I reckon that it is a sign of maturity.
The reason why Dan Carter is rated as arguable New Zealand’s greatest fly-half is that he underplays his hand, distributes, takes the tackle when he has to and then strikes when the opposition least expects it.
Cooper who was brought up in New Zealand unfortunately did not get much rugby coaching there. The New Zealand system has always been for fly halves to be distributors in the main who can strike when the opportunity presents itself.
The flyhalf who is an out-and-out striker like Spencer is generally not favoured. Even though Spencer was a more talented number 10 than Andrew Mehrtens, Mehrtens was more often preferred to him because he was a better distributor.
Getting back to Cooper, he is playing now more like Carter and remember Carter’s game was developed and matured under Robbie Deans.
My guess is that the new Cooper will interest Deans much more as a starting number 10 much more than even the 2011 and 2012 models.
And this brings us to the second aspect of the Cooper dilemma. His ineffective tackling. Deans has stated that unless Cooper plays in the line, he won’t be considered for the Wallabies number 10 position.
The good news here is that this season Cooper has made some effective tackles. Two in particular against the Bulls helped the Reds to pull off their terrific victory.
I call it a terrific victory because the Reds haven’t played well this season, even though they’ve kept winning most of their matches.
Sides that are slightly off form can be very vulnerable to the basic kick/chase/pressure/penalty game of the Bulls. And the Reds came through the game for a victory that was in balance until the last play of the match.
Part of Cooper’s more assured play this week and last week is due to the presence of Will Genia back again after an injury.
Let’s be emphatic here. Genia is far and away the best halfway in the world and when his career is over I have no doubt that he is going to be ranked in the pantheon of the greatest Wallaby halfbacks in the modern era that include Connor, Hipwell, Farr-Jones, Gregan (in that order in my opinion).
Genia has a great pass: he can run brilliantly: his defence is strong: he takes the high ball expertly.
The only fault in his game is that he can be rattled a bit and then is inclined to kick away possession (as he did in the big matches in the 2011 RWC tournament) with stupid chip kicks.
But the space he creates enables (or should enable) playmakers like Cooper to do what they should do and that is run the game according to the team’s game plan and the situation of the game.
It was good too to see Horwill come back so strongly. The Reds and the Wallabies have missed a strong presence at number 2 in the lineout, pushing in the scrums and making bursts in open play.
Horwill gets his hands on the ball a lot. This is a sign, in my view, of a tight forward who reads the game well and puts himself into positions where he can use his bulk and (in the case of Horwill) his bulk to good advantage.
The other outstanding win from an Australian perspective of the weekend was the Waratahs victory snatched in the last minutes of play against the Blues.
Nothing gives confidence to a side which is lacking in it than sneaking wins at the death stroke. And once again, the Waratahs came back from a big deficit at half-time for go over the top of the Blues who had shot most of their ammunition in the first half.
Whatever Michael Cheika tells his players at half-time should be bottled and used by, say, the Wallabies when they are down after 40 minutes of play.
The statistics of rugby say that the team that is in front at half-time will almost always win the win. The All Blacks, for instance, win something like 90 per cent of their matches when they are leading at half-time.
So the Waratahs have been making things difficult for themselves but not turning up to play in the first half. To their credit, they have tried to get back into the match by playing ball-in-hand rugby.
They had five long sequences of play, for instance, when the Blues struggled to put together more than one sequence of more than five plays.
They are beginning to learn, too, that the sequence play is a means to an end. It is not a means in itself. A lot of teams get stuck in the pattern of their sequences, and the Crusaders up to the last two matches, tend to be like this.
Moving an opposition from one side of the field to the other is the means. The end is to get mismatches to exploit.
Carter is an expert in doing this, and in the last two matches he has regathered his mojo and the Crusaders are beginning to show the benefit of this. He is not going to South Africa with the Crusaders because his wife is due to give birth to their first child.
How the Crusaders get on against the Stormers and Sharks, two extremely difficult matches, will probably decide whether they will make the finals or not.
The Waratahs number 10 Brendan Foley, a Randwick player with oodles of confidence, is becoming more and more comfortable in the role of playmaker for the Waratahs in their new/old style of keeping the ball in hand.
If I were Cheika I’d give a call to his former team-mate the incomparable Mark Ella to do some one-on-one with Foley to develop his understanding on the art of seeing where the numbers are on either side of the ruck, where the convenient match-ups are and how to do the double-around, a manoeuvre that is frequently deadly and is under-used (except by the Chiefs Aaron Cruden) in modern rugby.
What an irony that bad boy Quade Cooper shows every sign of pulling in his head and concentrating on his rugby while at the same time Kurtley Beale is involved (allegedly) in another incident that does no good for his reputation or his future as a Wallaby.
This incident looks, on the face of it, to be a bad one. All the details will have to emerge. But if what happens is what media reports suggest what happened, we could be looking at no Kurtley for the British and Irish Lions tour.
This blow, if it does fall, will be softened a great deal by the excellent current form being shown by the Reds stars, an unlikely good boy Cooper and Genia and Horwill both doing well what they have done in the past.
Cattledog
Roar Guru
So too James Slipper :)
DMac
Guest
Not really. I hate the NRL, most overhyped, boring sport in existence. But I was travelling on Thursday and I was sitting in my hotel room, bored, so I put the Storm v Bulldogs game on. I watched Billy Slater jump in the air and karate kick a Bulldogs player in the head. And then I listened in disbelief as the commentators spent the next 10 mins reassuring us that there was nothing wrong with his actions, it was just reflex (because reflexively kicking someone in the head is ok apparently). And I thought, this is the NRL in a nutshell. Nothing is allowed to detract from the hype. Billy Slater is a god and so events on the field will be reinvented to protect his image. So yeah, I find it refreshing to hear Phil Kearns point out when McCaw is offside at the breakdown for the 47th time today, because I know he's calling it as he sees it rather than trying to protect some hyped up image. Of course the kiwis will hate it, but they can always listen to their own commentators conveniently ignoring every one if McCaw's indiscretions, so everyone's a winner.
GWS
Guest
Horne at 12 for the wbs ? U don't remember what the brums did to the pillow blue flowers do u.
Who Needs Melon
Roar Guru
I agree with every word of that Peter. Not sure what the world has come to when we describe Horne and AAC as passing centres. They're not in the class of Lealifano I that department but, still, they seemed to realise to make an effort on the weekend.
Lano
Guest
Agree with all of you. To demonstrate the bias I was going to time how long they speak about the Tahs, Reds etc and not the visiting team, but bugger me, imagine actually wilfully listening to them. Jeez, they are hopeless, biased, and should just commentate.
sheek
Roar Guru
There is a difference between influential & great. For example, Mike Brearley was an influential captain of England, but he wasn't a test cricketer. Gregan was an influential leader, but not the best scrumhalf in pure terms.
sheek
Roar Guru
I think we're being a bit retro here. I agree Larkham didn't play long enough for any judgement to be conclusive about him being a better fullback than Burke. Also keep in mind that in the mid 90s Burke was a beautifully balanced broken field runner (only Cullen was better at the time). But several serious injuries forced Burke to become more conservative in later years. Larkham on the other hand, was a godsend when he shifted to flyhalf.
sheek
Roar Guru
Harry, I couldn't disagree with you more re Gregan being better than either Farr-Jones or Hipwell. Funny how we all see things so differently. Gregan was a great rugby player but not a great scrumhalf. And his technical deficiencies rub out his brilliance elsewhere. I can't separate Farr-Jones & Hipwell. Sometimes I think Hippy was the best I've seen simply because unlike Farr-Jones or Gregan or many other modern Wallabies scrumhalfs, he didn't have the luxury of strong packs feeding him good ball. Consequently, he became a master of turning bad ball into usable ball, almost always. He did this over & over & over & over. If either Farr-Jones or Gregan got bad ball, they were inclined to have a hissy. Hipwell had little choice in the matter, he just got on with it.
soapit`
Guest
how does that reflect compared with the overall literacy rates of the two states?
Sage
Guest
Rare to have any cheering for NSW in our house but it was different yesterday. Very happy for them and that they managed not to stuff it up. Only caught the abridged Reds replay but some good signs with Cooper. I'm surprised there hasn't been more talk on his defence after the shellacking he gets. He defended really well. And this far down and no comments on Kurtley? If he is guilty as suggested, in or out for the Lions tour? I say out and a firm stand needs to be taken. Example time. I agreed with the cricket stand downs too though.
formeropenside
Guest
What more can the Reds do please sheek?
formeropenside
Guest
Reds pack pushed around the Blues and Canes.
The OG AlBo
Roar Guru
I think you'll find that JOC has done nothing but behave since 2011. I think it's time to give him the credit he deserves.
AdamS
Roar Guru
Because they all lost this week?
bluerose
Guest
Cooper class???????, looks like we have different meaning of class, he has talents yes but not class, long way to go, the Brumbies pack lost the game for them, time and time again they chose to run high into contact, no go 4ward ball at all, Fardy made some go runs when he came on, George Smith was outstanding in the breakdown despite being driven back every time he takes the ball in, i expected Auelua to be there #1 ball carrier, should have carried more than he did, Kimlin boy what were you thinking, the Brumbies backline still looks strong with a very solid looking 10-12-13 combo, they did miss Mogg's contribution from the back and Nick White's service, also great win by the Reds and the Waratahs.
Harry
Guest
een worse wends. The Brumbies were brave against a very good Stormers side and 40,000 screaming fans. They were without Mogg, White, Pocock and Alexander in their starting lineup, had things go wrong for them in the first half and then still had the game in balance when an itercept try occurred with 2 minutes to go. Two world class players Genia and Horwill looked the goods early in their comebacks from serious injuries. The Quadester started showing a bit of spark. Dave Dennis led from the front in pulling back a big deficit and keeping calm and focused in the last 10 minutes. Drew Mitchell and AAC played well and Folau was good in atches, if still inexperienced. Force coulda/shoulda won, but there lack of depth in the backs exposed. Rebels were shameful.
PeterK
Guest
Genia last year without QC was ordinary, the reds attack was pop gun. Seems QC needs Genia just as much. Horwill was very good considering the long layoff. Mogg could of been the difference for the brumbies, his long kick was really missed and his attacking spark. It was fortunate that McGibbin was injured, Lucas has a far better pass, quick and staright, actually in front of the man so he has to run onto it! Made a big difference. McGibbin also box kicks far far too often , especially on turnover. This is criminal. IMO Timani had his best game of the year, far better than Douglas who was very lazy. Folua gets better every game. Betham had a poor game. Horne is a far better 12 than 13. I remember advocating year after year he should replace Carter at 12. Horne still not good enough for Wallabies though. I notice he passed more at 12. AAC actually passed, still not enough though. Cheika is finally having an effect. The Tah pack really miss Palu and TPN. Ryan had another good game, should make the wallaby squad and retain his spot ahead of Kepu. I though Robinson apart from scrums did not do much. Dennis only put in in the last 20 mins. He saved his energy, he did very little before that. No way should he be retained in the wallaby squad let alone make the team. Hooper was busy but Gill and Smith well ahead of him. Mitchell had his best game too. Getting back to serious form. Having centres that get the ball to the back 3 makes a big difference.
Chivas
Guest
Give me an example HT. the intercept pass... I don't agree that lost them the game as what the other 15 did to get up is beyond me. But that is recognised on this side of the ditch. Tell me others over a career that spanned a good decade. When Auckland were in decline, he held them together not for a game, but season after season. But he was heavily relied on to do the heavy lifting. If you want to quote the short passes. For mine that is rubbish as it was for the coaches. He could have changed his game quite easily, but it's what he was called upon to do. He never came out and said poor me, the team must play to my game as I'm the smartest and most gifted and everyone comes to see me (see QC). Anyway we all have our own memories. For mine there was a lot more to Spencer's game than he was a flaky bit player who won and lost games. His was a style the coaches wanted to pursue and play off. When Smith started coaching the AB's he too wanted to introduce a flatter backline, whicheans not standing so deep aka Mehrts, Fox et al. He had a meltdown and came back as assistant, but it was a greater challenge to move the playing style of the group than he had envisaged. Some years on we have made vast improvements. Anyway as I say for me they are memories and what these players contributed over a long time to the style and game as we know it today. And for that I appreciate Carlos's loyalty and gifts both in on field generalship when it was completely missing and the skills and work ethic he bought, when as the key player and most gifted he could have rested on his laurels and been a dickhead. He wasn't. If your memories aren't the same, I figure you didn't have the privilege of watching him quite so much at all levels. If he is a liability I'd take him any day over any current Wallaby player and most past.
Emuarse
Guest
I'll never forget one test game at Ballymore against the All Blacks, when from a line out between the Wallabies 22 metre and the 10 metre, the AB's won the ball and very quickly passed it out to their winger across the field. The wallabies covering wing and fullback were left behind. The AB winger dived for the try, ball out in front, held in both hands. From out of no where, at terrific speed, Ken Catchpole dived, grabbed the ball from the winger's hands, and saved the try - probably the best defensive action I've ever seen.
Emuarse
Guest
Clark goes close to it with his repetitive dribble.