'He's the best option': Dave Rennie on Quade Cooper's selection
Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie has knocked back suggestions that the selection of Quade Cooper for this week’s Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks on the Gold Coast is a panic move after three straight defeats to the All Blacks.
Instead, Rennie has labelled Cooper, who has been named to play in his first test in four years after being picked in the Australian No 10 jersey, as “the right man for the job” as the Wallabies look to upset the reigning world champions at Cbus Super Stadium.
The selection of Cooper dominated headlines throughout the rugby world on Friday as it marks one of the unlikeliest comebacks to test rugby in recent history.
After last featuring for the Wallabies against Italy in Brisbane in 2017, Cooper has endured a turbulent few years in Australian rugby.
It started in 2018, when Queensland Reds head coach Brad Thorn dropped him from his squad and forced him to play club rugby for Southern Districts in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition during the Super Rugby season.
That sudden fall from grace instigated a move south to the Melbourne Rebels as Cooper looked to push for a place in Australia’s 2019 World Cup squad, but that never came as Wallabies boss Michael Cheika continued to leave him on the outer.
With his future in Australian rugby seemingly in tatters, Cooper opted to play abroad as he signed with the Hanazono Kintetsu Liners at the end of 2019, and it’s in Japan where he remains based to this day.
Most would have expected the 33-year-old to see out the rest of his playing days in the Land of the Rising Sun, but a shock Wallabies recall by Rennie came when star playmaker James O’Connor was hit with a groin injury last month.
Even at the time of Cooper’s unexpected return to the Wallabies camp, the chances of him actually taking to the field were viewed as minimal by many.
Those odds took a further dent last week when he missed out on selection to play the All Blacks at Optus Stadium in Perth, despite heavy speculation linking him to a place in Rennie’s match day squad in the week leading up to the match.
However, an erratic series of performances against the Kiwis by youngster Noah Lolesio has paved the way for Cooper to return to the fray and add to his 70 test caps against the Springboks on Sunday.
It’s Cooper’s vast experience and multi-faceted threat that Rennie will be hoping to see from his star man as the Wallabies aim to register their first, and much-needed, win of the Rugby Championship at the halfway stage of the competition.
The All Blacks typically boast plenty of depth in the outside backs but now, more than ever, everyone is pushing for a spot in the starting lineup. How can Ian Foster make best use of his cattle in the coming weeks? #AllBlacks #NZLvARG
?? @PatMcK6https://t.co/uq1K0kTyFf
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) September 11, 2021
“He’s the best option,” Rennie told reporters on Friday of his decision to thrust Cooper into the No 10 jersey at the expense of Lolesio.
“I think he’s been with us around four weeks. He’s trained really well. We felt we still need more balance to our game, and he’s got the skill set to deliver that, whether it’s by hand or through the boot.”
Rennie’s faith in Cooper’s skill set has been met with scepticism by some cynics, who have argued that bringing back someone of his age who hasn’t played test rugby in four years, or any rugby in five months, on the back of three straight losses reflects a sense of panic within the Wallabies set-up.
That notion has been rejected by Rennie, though, as he said that Cooper’s training performances and influence on his young squad warrants selection.
“Quade’s been really impressive, contributed massively to the group around discussion and his experience has been great,” Rennie said.
“He’s got an arm around some young guys and we couldn’t be happier with him. He’s certainly trained very well. He’s had another good training this morning and we expect him to put that on the park on the weekend.”
He added: “There’s certainly no panic. We’re basing selections on what we see. Some guys’ selections are based on recent test matches. For Quade, it’s been training.
“He’s trained really well. He was very close to selection last week and got the nod this week. There’s certainly no panic. We’re trying to grow our game. We think he’s the right man to get us around the park.”
Concerns have also been raised about the impact Lolesio’s omission will have on the 21-year-old, who has just eight caps to his name but has started all six of Australia’s tests against France and the All Blacks this year.
Against a vastly under-strength French side, Lolesio starred during his side’s three-test series victory in July, but the young gun found it tough going in three consecutive outings against the All Blacks in Auckland and Perth.
The seasoned Springboks No9 is back fit for Sunday’s Rugby Championship resumption and he has assessed the threat he faces going up against the Wallabies youngster #AUSvRSA #RugbyChampionshiphttps://t.co/1T2iCgrRWk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 10, 2021
Rennie dismissed suggestions that Lolesio’s inconsistent showings against the New Zealanders was a product of a decline in confidence, but rather a reflection of his inexperience at test level.
Rennie had been vocal about the poor option-taking of his playmakers throughout the Bledisloe Cup series, with Lolesio’s inability to identify and exploit space in the backfield at the forefront of those issues.
Instead, the ball was often flung wide via cut-out passes, which led to five intercept tries across the three All Blacks tests and a change of of personnel at first-five for the Springboks clash.
Rennie hopes that Lolesio will develop his tactical understanding by watching Cooper take to the field from the stands this weekend.
“We rate him highly, and that’s the reason why he’s started so many tests. I do believe it’s a chance for him to clear the head a little bit,” Rennie said.
“We’ve got four tests in quick succession coming up and he’s desperate to be better. We’ve got through his game in detail again this week, so he’s learning quickly.
“We’ve talked a lot about the game management side of it and it’s a massive focus for him, so certainly he’ll spend more time and it’s a chance to sit back and watch how other guys operate this week.”
Furthermore, Rennie expects Cooper to make up for what Lolesio lacks in terms of tactical kicking prowess.
“You’ve got to be a triple threat. I think it’s an area where James O’Connor is very good and the best 10s in the world are all very strong in that area,” he said.
“As we’ve said, Quade’s skill set will be really important, his experience will be really important, and I know he’s really excited.
“I imagine he’ll be anxious going into the game, first test in a long time, but we brought him in to give us a bit of cover and to give us a bit of depth, and he’s earned the right to play.”
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments