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Cheika’s continued Cooper love unwarranted

15th August, 2015
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That's it Cheik, teach 'em how to kick. (Image: Tim Anger)
Roar Guru
15th August, 2015
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3148 Reads

Michael Cheika’s continued selection of Quade Cooper is questionable and the decision to pick him against the All Blacks at Eden Park back-fired.

The Wallabies were out-played, thrashed by New Zealand 41-13 on Saturday night. The defeat was not Cooper’s fault as the men in black were immense, they slowed the ball down and ran the ball the hard.

The All Blacks lifted their game several notches and the Wallabies couldn’t go through them. It was slow ball all night and the Aussie forwards were unable to make an impact.

It’s very hard for a 10 to do much with slow, ordinary possession.

But Cooper’s performance, and his yellow card, hardly helped matters.

It’s his second yellow card in his past two games, following the one he picked up against Argentina in Mendoza, and it was a costly one.

The All Blacks ran in three tries with Cooper off the field. The game, which was at least a contest in the first 20 to 30 minutes, was long gone.

The Queenslander was then hooked on 58 minutes for Matt Toomua.

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Cooper kicked poorly throughout, slipped over at a key defensive moment – as did Adam Ashley-Cooper – and threw an offload straight into touch on four minutes. In the Rugby Championship this year the five-eighth has struggled to have a positive influence.

The behind-the-back pass against the Boks on half-time, that almost lead to a try, the cards against the Pumas and All Blacks, the woeful kicking out of hand – it hasn’t been great. His goal-kicking hasn’t set the world alight either, though it was decent in Auckland.

In fairness to him, none of his rivals for the position have thrived either. Bernard Foley was pretty disappointing last weekend.

Cheika has a tough choice working out which playmakers he takes to the World Cup: Cooper, Foley, Toomua, Giteau, Beale. He can’t take them all.

Cooper just doesn’t seem to be the same devastating attacking player he was earlier in his career. We rarely see the amazing step, the ability to break the line or evade defenders. He seems content to run sideways and not take the line on.

He hardly played in Super Rugby this year, battling injury after injury, and he seems to have lost the pace and dyanamic form following his terrible ACL knee injury at the 2011 World Cup.

Then there’s the baggae, the social media outburst that goes with the 27-year old.

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On a dry track in a fast, open match, when his forwards have the ascendency, Cooper can be amazing. His is a risk-taking player with an eye for the spectacular.

However, in a grinding, tough battle, in wet conditions when you need a calm, composed tough who can tuck the ball under the jumper if needed, when a conservative approach is demanded, is Cooper the man?

No and that’s likely to be the kind of games the Wallabies encounter in the northern hemisphere autumn.

Cheika is a master motivator and has backed Cooper to do well in this series. Fair enough. But he now needs to decide if the five-eighth’s high-risk, rocks and diamonds style is what is need to win a World Cup.

Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson

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