Quade Cooper is backing dumped playmaker James O’Connor to regain form and force his way back into the Wallabies’ ranks in time for next year’s Rugby World Cup.
Cooper, who has been sidelined since rupturing an Achilles tendon in Australia’s Rugby Championship clash with Argentina earlier this month, has been joined on the sidelines by O’Connor, who was a shock axing following their record loss to the Pumas in the second Test.
O’Connor’s place in the squad was taken by 71-Test veteran Bernard Foley, who is in the mix to play five-eighth in Adelaide on Saturday against South Africa.
Cooper had “no doubt” that 32-year-old O’Connor could bounce back, based on his own experience of returning to the Wallabies following five years in exile.
He said he had given the Queensland Reds ace advice to focus on himself rather than the end of goal of returning to the Test fold.
“I said to James your focus can’t be solely that your worth is based in being selected in the Wallabies,” Cooper told AAP.
“You have to find your worth every day in who you are now, what are the habits, the things you do as a man every day, what you pride yourself on. If they’re the right things, they will put you in a good place to be selected for the Wallabies along your own journey.
“So physically, as an athlete, mentally as a man, just continue to work at those and work at it, not to get back into the Wallabies, just for yourself to be better every day.
“When and if you are selected to come back in you will just go about it like it’s your every day – that’s what held me in a good place.”
While Cooper and Foley played in Japan in recent seasons, the fact they were in different divisions means the pair have only met once on the field in recent times.
But Cooper expects the two-time World Cup veteran to be up for the challenge of taking on the world champion Springboks.
Foley, also 32, only joined the Wallabies this week, so youngster Noah Lolesio is more likely to start at five-eighth for the Adelaide Oval Test.
“You never lose your ability so I don’t know how he is physically, if he has any injuries or anything like that, but from all accounts he was playing good football in Japan,” said Cooper, who was in Melbourne to promote next month’s Bledisloe Cup.
“I imagine he’s going to slot straight in if he gets an opportunity and it will be great for Noah as well, being around a guy who’s been there and done it at the highest level, and will give him a different perspective.”
Cooper could see a silver lining in the Wallabies 48-17 loss to the Pumas, which came after a swag of injuries as well as the departure of skipper Michael Hooper from the tour for mental health reasons.
“It was a very young team facing a lot of adversity and losing lot of experience in such a short time,” he said.
“But that’s how you gain experience, other guys got opportunities so I think that in the long run it’s going to be great for the team.”
LuckyPhil
Roar Rookie
Love that Quade Cooper is turning into Mr Miyagi. The Wallabies have to get him back as a mentor to the new crop of 10s
Paulo
Roar Rookie
You’re more level headed than most Ken :happy:
Hoy
Roar Guru
I too thought it was Mooney. It was Eddie Jones in 2007, before Mooney, who brought Quade on. So there you go... horrible season that one.
Hoy
Roar Guru
True, and he didn't become a brand until he went to Melbourne... for his brand. I feel sorry because three of the amigos have all had so much wasted time... Egos and poor man management the issue for all of them.
Hoy
Roar Guru
Shame we didn't see young Quade in a young Quade's body as much as we should have.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Never thought of McCaw as a villain, but yes, Quade is an inspiration.
Tim J
Roar Rookie
:thumbup:
Paulo
Roar Rookie
I think the fact you can refer to those events and we all know what you’re talking about means some of them are heading towards mythology. The thing with Cooper and Macaw is it was two really high profile players and it lead into Coopers comments going into the World Cup (if I remember correctly). It created so much more hysteria than it warranted. One problem with past players or actions is hey are remembered and magnified through our own lenses. Macaw was not as saintly or as villainy as people remember, depending on which side of the fence you are. The same with Quade, his sins were not that bad, and while treated poorly by some coaches, soMe if it was deserved too. I’m am now actually a big fan of Cooper and his new mindset. His calmness and acceptance of reality is something I aspire too.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Paul Hogan was once asked how he wrote a script- “Just made it up” he said. Cheers Oz.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Spot on A. A coach is a politician amongst everything else. Was it Mooney, not Link, that first brought Quade into the Reds? But Link got the chocolates (until he didn’t). Sacked, or otherwise gone, but the one who makes the crucial call to plant a seed doesn’t always reap the fruit . The fine line is to develop enough stock, while winning. Rennie is paying for the Mooney that Cheika wasn’t.
Big A
Roar Rookie
hey Ken - you are mercurial in your thoughts my man - gotta feel abit for Rennie - his rapidly declining winning percentage is blurring his selection calls - a real conundrum - does he sacrifice possible wins for the longer term - in which case he may not be around to enjoy the fruits of his labours - i think we just back him and hope it all comes good in 12 months time.
Machooka
Roar Guru
... or coaches' job?! :laughing:
Wooliej
Roar Rookie
Nice to read some positive words. So much pressure on a 10. Who’d want that job? The media frenzy around that position is phenomenal.
Aiden
Guest
In fairness … while appreciating JOC’s personal evolution … go back and look at some of his games in his pomp. As big a tool he was off the field he always performed exceptionally well as a Wallaby , often best in the team for me (other than the one game as 10 v the Lions). Excellent defender, almost always broke tackles, distributed well and popped up all over the place looking for work.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
“In a world of vicious criticism, oh for more mirrors”. Is that you? Beautiful prose
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Oz, in a nutshell, spot on. Like the wigged adjudicators in Henry Lawson’s Darlinghurst Courthouse “where drunkards in judgement of drunkards sit”. In a world of vicious criticism, oh for more mirrors.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Paulo, ‘gamesmanship’ may be euphemistically inaccurate I grant you :happy: , but Moody’s elbow, Swain’s forehead and Jonny Hill’s hairdressing have not been mythologised hyperbolically for over a decade either. :silly: Your stated support here is fine play and appreciated by this WB fan, (who has never even met the guy). I acknowledged to Fin my unmeasured response. Just yesterday on these boards someone wrote of Quade’s historical ‘sins’. Mistakes are made and corrected every day but stubborn myopia can last forever.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Fin, it seems that my first response was unmeasured. It’s a sore point I react to I admit. After a season of silly challenge to a rugby icon (who may well have been non-saintly in camera-less places) he has been disproportionally pilloried. But I apologise. Mine was an over reaction – you and I obviously wish for the same things. And I agree. Oh if we could put wise heads on young shoulders Quade may have soared, with the Wallabies flying with him. But it wasn’t just one man. In rugby it never is. Players prosper in context. I don’t believe that Quade suddenly ‘got better’ last year. Last year, in case anyone hadn’t noticed, we saw a few things that Oz rugby fans historically cannot take for granted – a tight five parity , a big boned running back rower in BobbyV, a game plan templated for a clever under-playing playmaker, and the kicker – the Krev Train. And without ALL of these clicking I doubt we we would have seen our historic 5 on the trot. These on field compliments were always what a genuine playmaker needed. And Quade’s skill set has for some time, in my view, suffered for the lack of the context and power compliments required to make use of it. What Rennie did last year was create a simple, but balanced, attack template around strengths we haven’t always had on the same paddock. This year we see how tenuous that design was, and how important it is to have like for like understudies in each role. Back then during that winning streak I was screaming, almost immediately, for a pod of Joey 10’s to learn the template, and for the WBs to judiciously use Quade. Cotton wool was mentioned. Larkham went lame when we most needed him in 2007. Yet here we are. The two most crucial pieces in the template are in the workshop getting rebuilt from the ground up. Now we are forced to develop Mark II’s and Mark III’s in crucial roles. Thanks Fin for your clarification.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
‘Gamesmanship with a rugby saint?’ - are you reffering to deliberately kneeing Ritchie in the head? That’s a bit more than gamesmanship. However, I do agree in moving on from the past and am a big supporter of his. As I have commented on several times over the last few years. We all made stupid mistakes when we were young, but we do need to own them, and he has, which only increases my respect for him.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
As it should be