While Australian rugby fans were screaming at their TVs, wishing for nothing more than it to be Saturday night with all the pubs open til dawn, and their South African counterparts were, as Andrew Mehrtens suggested choking ‘on their breakfast steaks’, Quade Cooper had this to stay about that insane climax.
“I mean, it’s footy, you know.”
As the world around him went nuts, and young teammates raced to him and leapt on his shoulders in the aftermath of his after-the-siren pressure kick to beat the world champion Springboks, Cooper proved that those Zen like words he’s been saying about life and change in the past few weeks are 100 percent heartfelt.
Family, health, friends. These are things that Cooper wants us to know mean more to him than winning games of rugby, no matter how dramatic the circumstances.
Maybe this remarkable photo sums it up more than words can: the ball gone, the game won, the fans and teammates celebrating and Cooper a picture of stillness and calm.
(Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)
And Cooper made it clear in his beautiful exchange with one of those friends, former All Blacks player Sonny Bill Williams, who could hardly bear to watch his mate take the winning penalty attempt, from his position in the Stan Sport studios.
“I hate to put my brother in the studio on the spot there, but I’m so grateful for him,” Cooper said.
“When things went a bit pear shaped a few years ago, he was the first guy to reach out to me. I spent about two, three months just living with him every day.
“And just seeing what it takes to be a good, strong, man, every day. You see him with his family, see him with his teammates, the dedication, the hard work that he puts into his day to day life, not just when he turns up to fully train every single day but about being a better man, being better for himself for his family and everything else. I love you, brother. And I appreciate everything.”
With 80 minutes gone and the Wallabies down by a point, an Australian coach brought out two kicking tees – one for Cooper, who had already hit seven from seven – and one for Reece Hodge.
Wallabies captain Michael Hooper asked Cooper to make the call.
“The first thing was I looked up and I’d had a kick from a similar spot just before that,” Cooper said.
“I only just had the legs to get it over. And then it’s the 80th minute, looked at it and had a little chat to myself and said, ‘you know, is this your ego saying you want to take a kick? Or what’s in the benefit of the team?.
“I had a little chat to Hodgey as well. He backed me. So you know, your peers are backing you, you’ve got to back yourself as well.
“But we put a lot of effort and work into these sorts of things. And it’s not necessarily about the kicking itself, but just staying on the grind every day.
“The challenge now was like when you’ve had a high high, being able to just maintain and not get ahead of yourself, go back to your everyday, stay in it appreciate it for what it is.
“It’s a great, great team win, it’s one of the all time Test matches I’ve played in and just move on to the next. We’ve got another game next week. And you know how we go about our day tomorrow, which will be Monday, get in recover, and just enjoy some time with my family.”
But, said Stan host Nick McArdle (and of course we’re paraphrasing here because Nick is far too much of a gentleman to put it like this and I forgot to record it) ‘for f*** sakes, Quade you just came back from four years out, plenty thought you’d embarrass yourself and you’ve only gone and produced a rugby miracle, GET IN! HOW GREAT IS THAT??’…
But, still, Quade barely cracked a smile.
“For me, footy is just a small part of my life,” he said.
“And I sort of alluded to that throughout the week. Everybody seems more excited than I am. But this is just a small part of our life. It’s an important part. But it’s still a small part.
“This is a game of rugby. When we put that in perspective and understand that we’re going to walk off this field win, lose or draw, we might be a bit sore, but it’s not going to be the end of the world and we get to go home and around our loved ones.
“There’s so much more to life than just the result of a football game and when you can understand that that’s when you when you feel at peace with the game. And with everything else around us.”
Sonny Bill had earlier fought his emotions when he described the moment that Quade nailed the decisive kick, more than four years after laying his most recent Test. There have been many lows since then – and squabbles and enemies made. ‘Redemption stories’ are usually cliche, but this actually feels lke a proper one.
“Big stage, big time players step up and he sure did that,” said Williams, who reflected on his own career.
“Tonight has shown me how much love and support that my close ones gave me. They used to get excited when I’d achieve something great on the field.
“And I just got really emotional when he nailed that kick because I know the hardship that Quade’s had to overcome in the last few years, culminating in this kick.”
After Cooper professed his love, Williams responded: “I love you, too, brother. I’m so proud of you. You just stepped up and said it was mine. To me that the shows that’s a culmination of your journey of your last few years that you stepped up to the mark, and you’re ready to take it, you know, whether you got it or you didn’t.”
And then, on Monday, this postscript on Cooper’s Instagram stories.
“He’s an extraordinary human and I can’t thank him enough for setting an example of what it takes every day to succeed at life,” Cooper wrote.
“Without him, I’d have been happy to wander through life happy to just exist in my own little world with the same bad habits and behaviours.”
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
“this remarkable photo … Cooper a picture of stillness and calm” I noticed that particularly, and a couple of instances when Cooper took a quiet leading role in decisions while Hoopla! watched on, mute. The players were paying attention to him. I had given up on him years ago and had paid no heed to all the pre-match hyperbole about his re-emergence, but these things gave me pause so I sought out the interviews. The excitement will fade after a week or two. Quade Cooper will be 34 in 6 months and he too will fade soon, as they all do. Australian rugby will blunder on, lurching about, occasionally forward, just as it has done for twenty years or more now. I don’t want to think about what will become of the rugby faith I have served for a lifetime. I am nonetheless delighted to see the transformation in Quade Cooper’s manner and his candour about the need to change. His sentiments were simply and sincerely expressed in my opinion. It is a rare thing to see such an unequivocal admission. I trust he thrives. Some wise older people have offered him good advice evidently and, to his credit, he has listened carefully. He will move on from rugby now with greatly enhanced prospects of personal and commercial success. It is fashionable here to mock Sonny Bill Williams, I know, but it is instructive how several good judges of men have spoken generously of his capacity and preparedness to be a calm and positive influence on team mates.
Keenan
Guest
He South Africans would be choking on their breakfast steaks mate
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Its getting boring how good your articles are...nah just kidding. I have had enormous respect for SBW for quite some time now. When he came back from Japan and walked straight into the Mayor's office in Christchurch and handed over a chunk of cash for the fundraiser...sure he asked for a receipt for tax purposes! Many thanks again Tony!
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Obviously Benny, you have no idea of what culture is, especially ours!!
David Kupenga
Guest
Those losers are few and far between , SBW one of the most gifted athletes ever to lace up
taylorman
Roar Guru
Oh was it? Even better :stoked:
BennO
Roar Rookie
That was Taniela. How stoked was he!?
BennO
Roar Rookie
Awesome so out of "respect" you're not going to reveal anyone's feelings of disrespect to the public, just reveal that they are there. That doesn't seem like malicious innuendo dressed up as paternalistic care at all.
Ankle-tapped Waterboy
Roar Rookie
Thank you Tony. Fine article.
taylorman
Roar Guru
SBW is very misunderstood by some of those of us that don’t know him but everything from those that do can’t say enough about him so best to go on that in his case. Rennie was a huge SBW fan at the Chiefs and backed him to the hilt, talked about his impact on the squad in the simple day to day stuff being invaluable. That will have had something to do with Quades selection and you’d could see the change in Quade in that speech, that was no put on. He’s gone through a personal transformation that’s set him apart from his old self as he appreciates life and what it can bring… and what’s important. He’s probably got enough ticks on the sheet to warrant a wee movie by now such is the enigma that is Quade Cooper. Very impressive. On the kick a forty meter plus kick for a generally short range kicker, but one who has just put seven straight over in the last hour or so is obviously who you’re gonna go with, simply because of anyone within a hundred miles, you’re the only one in the zone for that kick. But for a 33 year old, out of tests for a while, at max range, and critically at the very end of a rugged test match where Quade himself said his legs could only just hold up, those seven kicks will have also taken their toll, that’s a big moment of truth to deal with. The rest is history, the way the big guy, can’t recall who it was, with the beard just dropped to his knees as though he’d just been awarded the keys to the pearly gates as it went over deserves its own scene in Lone wolf Quade the movie alone. Couldn’t have written a better script. :thumbup:
Minz
Guest
Great to see Cooper do well, and be so, well, cool about it. A while ago I told my rugby-supporting family I thought he'd changed, really worked on his weaknesses. Really glad he got a chance to show it. SBW, well, I'm always ready to hate on leaguies, ex-leaguies, Kiwi rugby wunderkids. But watching him at RWCs, he's always the first to commiserate with opponents and takes a generous and open-hearted approach to things. For all the League-playing, he seems a genuine proper rugby guy, which is an area his most famous captain fell solidly short in. More power to him.
Tom
Guest
Not hatred but a few resented sbw going straight into squad but. He proved himself with his dedication and best offloader in both codes. The one when the blues beat the British lions wAs the one that stands out in union for me. He embraced the challenge he said going back to league he turned up with notebook at team meeting got laughed at soon they all did. Probably that roosters season was his best.
KFar
Guest
Sam Stosur and her partner winning the female doubles :tennis:
max power
Guest
i am surprised that Danny Weidler wasnt there to hug them both
nufz
Guest
SBW welcome down in cru land. He gave a lot of his own money to charity after the quakes, didn't have to and did it with no fuss. He is a good man!
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Well having my Mokopuna marry into his Whanau, I can say what I did Phil. It's not for me to make their feeling public, but Quade, is aware of what he did.
Ben
Guest
Which site were you on that banned you?
Phil
Guest
I am not that familiar with Maori culture,but I understand whanau is the family.What did Quade do to disrespect them?A genuine question,Muzzo,not having a go at your comment.
Rugbyrah
Roar Rookie
I think Merhts is one of the best commentators. I remember him commenting on the Crusaders last year making the snide remark of how everyone loves them. He has sharp wit.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
It's great to see mate supporting mate, but obviously SBW, doesn't understand that Quade also disrespected his culture, to which his whanau, took a stance.