It's time for Kiwis to forgive Quade Cooper

Playmaker Richie Mo’unga held his nerve with a last-minute penalty goal to give the All Blacks a slender win over a valiant Wallabies outfit at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Test had pretty well everything. It had plenty of drama, running rugby, and some brilliant battles within the dark arts of the scrum and breakdown.

But, to quote the famous fictitious boxer Rocky Balboa, it wasn’t “all sunshine and rainbows.” Unfortunately, one infamous narrative continues to persist within the New Zealand rugby community.

Sitting in the grandstands at the Dunedin venue, it was both shocking and disappointing to hear some of the 28,000 fans in attendance boo Wallaby Quade Cooper during the second half.

After more than a decade of hate, it seems that some New Zealanders have refused to change their ways or second-guess their actions.

Enough is enough. It’s not what the value of this great game stands for.

At the time of writing, it’s almost midnight. The Test finished many hours ago, but there is an issue that requires a discussion.

Let’s set the scene by going back to the beginning. Cooper rose to rugby infamy during the early stages of his Test career, and the flyhalf has failed to shrug off that reputation in the years since.

Cooper, who was born in New Zealand, decided to play for Australia after moving across the ditch as a teenager. The playmaker went to high school in Brisbane, and was well within his rights to represent either nation.

But Cooper has been met with a chorus of boos from fans in multiple matches over the years for an entirely different reason, really.

The Wallaby, just like many New Zealanders, “idolised” All Blacks legend Richie McCaw growing up. But when they met in the Test arena, the two clashed on a number of occasions.

“To every New Zealander, that was the dude, and you just wanted to meet him. But now I’m playing for Australia,” Cooper said on an episode of Bloke In A Bar earlier this year.

“In the Australian locker room and stuff like this, everyone is the opposite, they just want to kill him and that.

“In the game in Hong Kong, I cleaned him out and he’s on the ground… I’m sort of standing over him and he just kicks me off with his foot to get me off… I just wanted to get him back.

“We ended up scoring the try that tied the game… I gave him a shove and said some words to him… a few other boys came in and pushed me off.

“I remember walking off the field and I was so embarrassed and disappointed… It was a really weird situation.”

Cooper was cited for kneeing McCaw in a 2011 Bledisloe Cup Test – while the pivot went on to beat the charge, Cooper has since admitted guilt.

Following on from that now infamous incident, Cooper was booed by New Zealanders during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Playing against the All Blacks in the semi-final, the Wallaby was public enemy No. 1.

Maybe for a while, it added to the drama and intensity of Test rugby – but it’s been more than a decade now. It’s time to move on.

If you’ve heard Quade Cooper speak in various interviews over the years, including the aforementioned Bloke In A Bar episode, then you’ll see a big difference.

Cooper has matured – of course he has. Imagine being watched by thousands every week while you try to work in your 20s. It would be exhausting.

Other than Ardie Savea himself, I haven’t heard one person mention the backrowers’ run-in with Wallaby Carter Gordon during Super Round earlier this year, either.

Savea, who captained the All Blacks in Bledisloe I, is a fan favourite – as for Gordon, much like Quade Cooper back in the early 2010s, the young playmaker is trying to find his feet in Test rugby.

Even in Bledisloe II, Gordon gave the haka an Owen Farrell-esque smirk. But nobody bats an eye – if anything, Wallabies fans may see Gordon’s intensity and passion as a breath of fresh air.

But Cooper was once the same.

Cooper has gone on to enjoy a decorated rugby career around the world, and will go down in history as one of the greatest Australian first-fives of the professional era.

That 2011 Super Rugby season will live on in the history books forever. It was just that good.

But for whatever reason, some fans refuse to appreciate greatness and change with the times as well. Again, it’s been more than a decade – it’s time to move on.

For any of those fans who thought it was fair to boo Cooper on Saturday, I implore you to tell me why. Tell me why, after more than a decade, some fans either can’t or won’t move on.