Quade coming home in aid of Olympic quest

Some players do the minimum. Some players hang around for an hour after a game signing autographs. I'm sure contracts do not specify a difference in those requirements. You can stand by your statement. Doesn't mean you don't ignore what he actually does. Just because Cooper and Kyrgios have both been gooses when they were young, doesn't make them alike. As I said, when did Cooper ever shown the blatant disrespect to officials and petulant behaviors that Kyrgios does? He hasn't. Hence why they are not alike. The only similarity is that you dislike them both. My attitude hasn't shifted. You just said I had a soft spot. I responded, no I dislike false statements.

Yeah, all of those rich businessmen writing the cheques must be total losers and idiots! They should listen to you!

TWAS, I note your position has shifted somewhat, from social engagements to false statements. Further, don’t be naive please all players are required to support club and franchiser expectations. I used the analogue that the man had similar persona traits as Kyrgios and the gent had been a goose in earlier times. I stand by that statement. If the gent had revered respect from the general public he would have a very different image that he is tagged with and which continues to follow him. Whether I agree with the analogue or not, that is the perception, divisive maybe but fact. If I reiterate the rhetoric from NZ friends who are much more knowledgeable than me, their critique of the gent is not nearly as favourable as mine. In their opinion the man would never have come close to a black jersey and once he reached OZ nothing improved. As noted numerous times if 7’s light his fire, great, the adjudicators are all sharpening their knives.

sbw can gel into any environment. what he has found hard is the training and fitmness requirements of nz 7s. also its his shyt luck that most of the experienced guys are out injured - curry stoewers djf cama - so guidance in the field will be an issue. one problem in 7s is that there is hardly any time to take a deep breath and get ur head straight, like in the xvs. ur moving from one to another in a jiffy and in a few its all over. if i remember correct it was like a couple of seasons ago when bryce heem got carded in the final and nz lost when they ended the game with 6 on the park against boks. every lapse small or big get magnified in a large field over a short period of time. many people who cover their mistakes in the xvs game get exposed badly in the 7s.

the way headline goes, u would think he is doing the country a favor by sacrificing his life for the cause !!!! somehow the whole thing looks stop gap - from the coach down. its funny to see this , when everyone knew rugger will be at rio for more than 4 years :)

they did untill an entire squad was lost to injury. at the start of the season i think they had like 270 caps in their squad. now i doubt they have 70 !!!! they just dont have experience. - cama, stowers, curry djf - easily 300 caps gone .

TWAS, I note your position has shifted somewhat, from social engagements to false statements. Further, don’t be naive please all players are required to support club and franchiser exceptions. I used the analogue that the man had similar persona traits as Kyrgios and the gent had been a goose in earlier times. I stand by that statement. If the gent had revered respect from the general public he would have a very different image that he is tagged with and which continues to follow him. Whether I agree with the analogue or not, that is the perception, divisive maybe but fact. If I reiterate the rhetoric from NZ friends who are much more knowledgeable than me, their critique of the gent is not nearly as favourable as mine. In their opinion the man would never have come close to a black jersey and once he reached OZ nothing improved. As noted numerous times if 7’s light his fire, great, the adjudicators are all sharpening their knives.

Yes he should have. He's had a terrible career so far. It's not like only a select few coming through Australian rugby will achieve everything that he has or anything.

I must agree with TWAS (even if he is a Queenslander) and wonder the rationale why many think Quade Cooper will fail. QC brings to the table what most inside backs would kill for, a fabulous pass either side, game vision, speed and the guts to go for it. True his game has fallen apart against NZ, but he isn't Robinson Crusoe there. Look at how well QC played when his coach gave him some freedom, compare QC under Deans and McKenzie. He was close to player of the tour for the 2013 EOYT because McKenzie cut him some slack. Sure in 15-man rugby, QC has trouble defending against the trucks running off set plays directly at him, but that heavy tackling just isn't there in 7's, and even in tackling QC has improved over the years. For my money if QC can learn the team defence and attack patterns of 7's rugby AND his teammates begin to understand the nuance of his running game, then there is no reason why QC won't be sensational in 7's rugby. And lets face reality, if the 7's team isn't changed there is no hope of a medal. The other point, which a couple posters above alluded to, is class. Most of the Aussie 7's team are unknowns who have specilised as 7's players but will never be top shelf Super XV players. I only recognise 3 names in the team and they are reserves for Super Rugby. If the ARU is serious about 7's rugby, then class players like QC and Rod Davies should have been slotted into the 7's program way earlier than now.

'Really? When has Cooper shown anything similar to the attitude of Kyrgios?' Fish paste hasn't acted the t..t since he embarrassed himself with the toxic comments. It's still debatable whether he was thrown under the bus by more experienced colleagues who didn't have the courage to say what fish paste was thinking.

'You may not be aware that since 2001, NZers relocating to Aus are issued a ‘Special Category Visa that entitles them to live and work in Australia but specifically excludes them from qualifying as permanent residents and precludes them applying for Australian citizenship. ' I am well aware of the visa. Given the visa entitlements there is no need for PR and Citizenship. I don't think Speight has either yet.

No. I just hate false statements. Cooper has never been guilty of the disrespect with Kyrgios shows, remonstrating with officials and complaining unless everything is absolutely perfect. Even when he was a huge t--- when he was younger, he never showed the disrespect of Kyrgios. But some people just hate him and choose to say he is as bad as some other athletes, without considering there are no similarities in their actions, only the public dislike. Which is odd considering that there are no similarities in their actions.

No. I just dislike seeing unwarranted criticism based on false statements. When has Cooper showed anything like the disrespect of Kyrgios who regularly fails to show match officials respect by arguing with them and remonstrating with them then other incidents such as his attitude over the wrong pair of shorts and background music in his last 2 matches. Cooper has never shown anything like that in his career. Even when he was a young twat. As for fan engagement, I doubt cooper had a contract that required he do so more than any other player, which is my point.

Haha Quade is a good showy touch footie player and that's what he should have stuck with. His ambition is writing cheques that his ability can't cash.

I'm far more confident of Quade Cooper being a sensation at 7's than SBW who likely won't have the aerobic capacity to go flat out. I see the openness of 7's as suiting QC's game to a tee and providing he can learn the patterns quickly, then I feel he will go really well. No 5/8 in Australian rugby has his passing ability. If his teammates run at holes QC will put them through. I'm not too worried about his defence that people deride him in the 15man game as the monsters charging at him in tight XV-man rugby won't be here. Its more a case of him learning to read the game and close holes and quickly. In 7's rugby, leave a hole in the defence line and your team is cut to pieces by speed merchants, as there are no 2nd line defenders just maybe the fullback. From what I have seen of the Aussie 7's side, (a) they lose most of their matches because of defensive errors (bad reads and terrible tackling) at critical times and (b) the top teams (Blitzbok, NZ and US Eagles) have absolute speedsters on the wings to finish off any breaks (and quite often create the breaks by burning around their opponents).

I just think the phrase "obvious challenge" the blindingly best understatement in ages. I cannot see just three series justifying anything let alone selection. It is almost presumptuous to imagine that either he or his team mates can settle into the required framework the team needs, let alone gain the fitness or vision the game needs. I am wondering if Williams can gel into the NZ setup and he is putting a much bigger effort into his challenge. It just seems Cooper must come out under-done. It might be best if he doesn't make it to the olympics and spends more time playing fifteens and regains some good form.

TWAS, we are all welcome to an opinion and I think that is healthy, but KN also engages with kids, fans, signs autographs, the media, that is a part of his contract with Tennis Australia. QC is /was in a similar position hence engaging socially is a big off-field requirement from both sponsor and franchisers. This is not new. We all realize you have a soft spot for the gent, understand but regardless of his capabilities that are somewhat marginalized, the man has been a goose. That is what the rugby public remember unfortunately. In my humble judgment he may have lost belief and appears to be searching for whatever. Maybe 7’s will invigorate his conviction as Toulon appear more than happy to release him. To be fair I wish him all the best, the test is in the results.

Really? When has Cooper shown anything similar to the attitude of Kyrgios? Cooper probably had more time for the fans than any other player on Australian rugby, from engaging on social media with fans, to staying back to sign autographs, to unexpectedly showing up to play touch footy with fans. It's just he was a c--- about 8 years ago. Some people choose to ignore all the good things he does. They've decided they don't like the bloke and aren't interested in what he actually behaves like now.

Agree .. best thing in years

He gets the place on the basis that players who specialise in 7s are second choice as 7s loses their best players to the more lucrative XV's.