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Wallabies not pretty, but not toxic

Tim Sheridan

15:00 AEST Thu Sep 27 2012

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Tim Sheridan is a reporter with Wide World of Sports and an integral member of the National Nine News team.

Have your say on Quade Cooper's comments

Normally a fight produces a winner, but Quade Cooper's situation doesn't seem to be helping anyone.

He may not play for the Wallabies again. If so, this will be seen as Robbie Deans closing the door, and if the Wallabies lose their last two Rugby Championship matches, Deans may be in strife as well.

Is this all because Deans backed Cooper before and during 2011 Rugby World Cup? Did the coach's perseverance inadvertently give Quade just enough rope?

Amidst calls for Cooper's sacking, I sat in a number of media conferences in New Zealand as Deans defended his man. By then, Cooper was already New Zealand's public enemy number one after his earlier off-the ball slap and the knee on All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.

In that Eden Park semi-final the All Blacks may have let 14 other Wallabies past them, but they'd have died before Cooper became the 15th.

Call it a series of unfortunate events. This includes Cooper's two injuries - last year and again this year - and of course sundry Twitter rants and a night out in Brisbane he could've done without. More like a perfect storm.

If Deans and Cooper are at such loggerheads on style of play I can't figure out why the coach was so eager to go into bat for the player and keep selecting him.

Given that Matt Giteau didn't get anything like the number of chances as Cooper it seems illogical that Quade could call himself a victim. Anyone who saw the dropped ball, kick out on the full and wayward pass at the start of the clash with Argentina on the Gold Coast would know that's not style of play – it's lack of form and confidence.

So where to now for Cooper? Back to the Reds, where Ewen McKenzie exists in an executive coaching role while he apparently waits for the Wallabies position to come up. But with more than a team of Wallabies injured and the three other southern hemisphere heavyweights all looking good, who'd want to take over the Australian coaching role right now?

Test rugby is a thoroughly different requirement and McKenzie knows that what works in Super Rugby can be trodden all over by the All Blacks at Eden Park. Really, that's what happened to Cooper.

The Wallabies are playing with passion – watching Adam Ashley-Cooper and Digby Ioane is enough to confirm that. They have won from behind in their last two Tests. Sure it hasn't been pretty, but using the word "toxic" to describe the team atmosphere is strong stuff. "Frustrated" might have been more applicable.

Cooper's was tweeted criticism from the injured and out of form, directed at weary campaigners fighting for the Wallabies' reputation.

Somewhere in Queensland, Will Genia is on a couch wishing he was with his teammates instead of staring at a post-operative knee. He would've been in Pretoria this weekend. Maybe he and Cooper can watch Saturday night's match against the Springboks together and talk about that toxic atmosphere. Genia certainly hasn't tweeted about it.

What do you think of Quade Cooper's recent comments on Twitter?
What do you think of the Wallabies' current playing style?
Is Robbie Deans still the right coach for the job?

User comments

The only thing toxic is Quade when things are not going well for the team as a team member you get right behind them i would not like to be in the trenches with him no guts in this man. Robbie deans one mistake is he should have stopped all that off the ball rubbish that Qade went on with I think he has done a great job considering the injuries , it certainly didnt help the wallabies PS Get rid of Quade and the whole out fit will move forward Dan

This idiots biggest problem he has got into bed with Mundine and the other clowns under the same management. Lets face it, he wouldn't even make a club team here in NZ, there are 40 players here playing No 10 that make him look like what he is, an egotistical arrogant clown. I cannot believe that the ARU have not ripped up his contract and told him to go to league. Maybe the ARL won't want him either, they have enough airheads now.

His Maori heritage haunts him....he has turned his back on his race by traitoring his Ta Moko. You cant do that and deep down he knows it, guilt will get him everytime he plays against the ABs, drop him because he has no ticker and guts

Deans should've been sacked last year, if not in 2009-10. He backed Quade last year but took the world's form 9 + 10 and coached them out of form. Both Genia and Cooper were much better in Red last year than Gold. This year, he's scapegoated several players. Beale, Barnes, Cooper. He complains they don't follow the game plan, but it's not Cooper who's consistently grubbered out of our 22, and the guys who do it are ALWAYS selected. The problems with the Wallabies aren't talent related, they're plan and cohesion related. You can't tell me that every Bok player is so far ahead of us that we deserved to lose 68-8 last weekend (the score if they'd hit their kicks and been awarded the TMO tries). Deans has had the team FIVE YEARS, yet our players drop the ball more in Gold than S15, the lineout's gone backwards, the scrum's gotten worse (compared to 2008-09). Every KPI is a fail, except the heart the players show. I pity them - they give their all in a cause that's lost before kickoff.

I think its time for Deans and the Australian Rugby team to take the next step. Deans has done all he can the Australian team is currently second in the world ranking behind NZ. He has blooded a host of new young eager talent ready for the next coach to take them to the next level. Australia need another coach preferably Australian to get this team to the next level. Someone who knows the Aussie psyche, how they think and play what makes them tick, laugh and cry. Most of all that burning desire to beat New Zealand not just the All blacks or the best team in the world but to beat, whip smash Kiwis New Zealanders. The Aussies should have a formidable team when everyone is fit and back playing but watch out for those that get losers limp, you dont need them. But thank Robbie for what he has achieved for your players (except QC)and your national team 2nd best is better than 3rd.

What would you do if no one is listening to you, just take the injuries the team has, why, if we have the top people looking after our team why so many injuries. We have great sponsors so we should be able to afford the best. It would be very frustrating for players to have team mates playing below par week after week, it appears to be effecting the team as a whole. Has anyone questioned the medical treatment they are getting or the attitude of the fittness coaches and even the coach. I realise that no one likes to point figures but lets be honest if you are fully fit and have the right fittnes routine these injuries could be avoided. Administration of the Wallabies should be investigated. Quade just might be frustrated that all things are not looked at and that many things in the camp are being hidden.

Cooper is trying to survive in Rugby on form with the Reds 2 seasons ago. Try getting some form with the body instead of the mouth. You are not bigger than the game. Rugby is a team sport not a place for an individual to try and shine on his own. Robbie Deans can only do what he can with the players left available to him. No great chef can cook wonders if the ingredients arnt right.

It's plain to many that Coopers real problem is within. Easy to agree with many of the already listed flaws and faults about his game too,without judging his person as such. Maybe some of the early success just came too easy for him but when the tables have turned and it's time to put in the hard work it's all become too much for him but of course none of the bad stuff is either his doing or his fault. As a Kiwi I'm hoping Australia retains him as a constant weak link in union. As a fan of league over union I trust that no NRL club would risk wasting time or money on this Back Stabbing ***.He is no SBW.

Gawn!!!!

Cooper is a triple O--overrated--overexposed and overpaid--lets get real -what has he actually accomplished under pressure.There are hundreds of better players around just waiting to get a tap on the shoulder.

This is the best article I have seen on the subject.Deans supported Cooper so much at the RWC that it probably cost us any chance of beating the All Blacks in the semi. And JR of Tasmania you must not have watched much rugby if you say test rugby is not different to any other.How many tries have the mighty All Blacks scored in the Rugby Championship?Defence is at a much higher standard in tests.Also,a lot of the blame for boring rugby can be blamed on the rules and terrible northern hemisphere refs we have been saddled with.

No one is replaceable. A champion team will always beat a team of individual champions. Good coaching is the key. It would probably be best if Quade gets his three year contract with the Reds and has a break for a while. He can always come back later. Meanwhile the Wallabies can focus on getting at least one more win. I also believe coaches need time to meld a team. Give Deans another year, and then judge him.

My son was lucky enough to train with the wallabies and quade couldn't get out of there quick enough he had no interest in talking to any of the kids and did the absolute bare minimum. The rest of the team couldn't be better with the kids they were awsome but quade carried on like a prima donna whether this was all part of the unhappy environment or not quade seemed to be the only one that was like that He is out of form that has nothing to do with the game plan of the wallabies

Quade is a good player but his mental attributes are on the appalling side. He thinks that he is the most perfect number 10 going around at the moment. He is only calling the Wallaby environment "toxic" to cover his own *** for making that blundering kick and letting Argentina score a try. He should wake up to his own mistakes and correct it himself before pointing the fingers onto others.

I can empathise with QC. I feel the same every time I watch this deadly boring uninteresting style of Rugby that coach Deans is perpetrating. I can well understand his frustration. This isn't the game they play in heaven...this is pure purgatory! I cannot for one moment believe that players with the talent of Genia, Beale, O'Connor, Mitchell and Cooper get any enjoyment from or wish to play the game the way it is now, kicking for field position or just running straight to the opposition forwards. I may as well go and watch League, even that's frequently more enterprising and entertaining than this. Teams who play with flair and spontaneity win games and draw spectators. Consider what the Reds did in the 2010 Super comp with Cooper working his magic. From a Rugby player and spectator with 60+ years of observations Sheridan's comment that this doesn't work in Test Rugby is rubbish. Bring on Ewen McKenzie before we die of boredom or destroy the flat screen in a fit of frustration.

Cooper has the ability to be a very good rugby player but has not reached the level demanded for a great player. He can talk his ability up as much as he wants (or as much as his manager wants) but he hasn't got the consistency or reliability in his game that is required at Test level. His off field behaviour is disrespectful to his team mates and to the ARU. Watching him tonight on Foxtel tonight just showed that he is full of contradictions and full of himself. He could not give a truthful answer to any question.

quade who! billy no mates

Quade has had a lot of chances but all he has done is prove he is not up to International standard. He is ranting on as if he thinks he is Dan Carter. And leave Robbie alone, he is doing well with about the 3rd level Wallabies. Take the top 8 players, and most of the first choice replacements, out of the All Blacks and see how they perform. No other country is going beat these All Blacks more than once or twice in the next year or two, so get used to them being top dog. It would be great to see the Wallabies up there, that would make my day and year.

Quade says that he's trying to fix a problem within the Wallabies camp... What a load os BS. If he was thinking of anyone other than himself he would know that ranting on social media wouldn't fix anything. I still think that Quade is the most skilled option Australia has at no.10, but he needs to learn from those that have been around the game for 40 years (people like Robbie Deans) instead of thinking that at 24 he knows it all. International rugby is not Super rugby, you can't keep giving away possession, not commit to tackle and expect to win. I hope that Quade grows up and decides to learn, because in a couple of years he could be a great player, but first he will have to win back the respect of his teamates!