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Springboks on Cooper: 'Not saying he was immature in the past...'
Beaten Springboks boss Jacques Nienaber has paid tribute to Quade Cooper for the way he played for Australia in last Sunday’s dramatic Rugby Championship win for the Wallabies on the Gold Coast. That 33-year-old hadn’t been capped at Test level since 2017 but he returned from his four-year stint in the international wilderness to put South Africa to the sword with a match-winning effort capped by a last-gasp penalty kick.
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With young Noah Lolesio struggling in recent matches versus the All Blacks, and particularly inaccurate off the kicking tee, Wallabies boss Dave Rennie felt last Sunday’s round three Championship clash with the Springboks was an opportune time to recall Cooper to a set-up he was last involved in when Michael Cheika was in charge.
Cooper went on to account for 23 of Australia’s match-winning tally of 28 points and his influence was admired by rival boss Nienaber, who insisted that he was surprised by nothing which the veteran out-half did having long been an admirer of his style of play.
“Nothing (surprised me),” said the Springboks boss when asked about a Cooper factor he will likely face again this Saturday when the teams play their round four clash in Brisbane. “He is a quality rugby player. I always thought he was a quality rugby player. I was coaching the Stormers back in 2011 when he and Will (Genia) were running riot with Queensland.
“I still see the same traits that I saw back then in him. It’s always nice as a defence coach to measure yourself against the quality of somebody like Quade. Just from purely what I am seeing, I am not saying he was immature in the past, not at all, I see a mature game. I thought he managed the game well and that is why Dave selected him, because of his experience. He is an experienced guy who has played over 70 Test matches.”
"If you look at it unemotionally you can say we could have won the Test match and nobody would have said anything, it wouldn't have been a debate"
– Jacques Nienaber had a busy media briefing after naming an XV with just two changes #Springboks #RSAvAUShttps://t.co/5YHpT2KI5z
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 15, 2021
Nienaber, who has made two changes to the starting Springboks XV for this weekend’s rematch with the Wallabies, added that the dynamic of having an old-stager such as Cooper involved in a squad where there are youngsters such as Lolesio who are keen to learn is a win-win situation for any team. “Test match rugby is different and it’s something you grow into. You make mistakes, you get used to the pace of the game only after a couple of matches, you get used to the pressure of it.
“Quade has played 70-odd Test matches and has been through most of it. In terms of your squad, it is always nice to have experience on one side but also to get that energy and that almost mindfulness and playfulness from the youth. It’s always nice to have a good balance in terms of that.”
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"The Springboks might be shamed into action by their 28-26 defeat to Australia. We might see them wipe the floor with the Wallabies this weekend."
– Hamish Bidwell hopes the Boks can rise to be the rival the All Blacks need. https://t.co/hWr7AQRPp0— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 15, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn 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
4 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 Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 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!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 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.
30 Go to comments