Ewen McKenzie expresses his confidence that his team can perform in absence of Quade Cooper – Rugby News
South Africa, New Zealand and Australia Rugby’s (SANZAR) 2011 Super Rugby Champions, Queensland Reds, head coach, Ewen McKenzie has expressed his confidence that his team has the ability to
deliver quality performance in the absence of their star fly half, Quade Cooper. McKenzie made these comments while talking to Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday, October 25.
Cooper sustained an injury during Wallabies 2011 Rugby World Cup’s (RWC) third place play-off encounter against Wales. 2011 Tri Nations winner, Wallabies, finished third in the tournament,
after defeating Wales on Friday, October 21. Cooper ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during the match, which has sidelined him from the action for six month.
Wallaby’s international fly half Quade Cooper was pivotal to the Reds 2011 Super Rugby campaign.
McKenzie has expressed his dissatisfaction on the loss of Cooper for the initial rounds of their 2012 Super Rugby campaign. He termed it as huge blow but denied that Cooper’s loss is a “knockout”
punch.
McKenzie said, “You don't want anyone injured but at the same time it's a full contact sport and it happens, so the key is having depth in your squad so you can survive these things.” He expressed
his confidence that Reds back up fly half options, will be able to fill the void created by Cooper’s absence. He said, “We have five guys that can play in that position so we'll probably play around with that a bit.”
McKenzie further added, “We had 37 players play last season and we won the title. We were really digging into our reserves. There's not one of us, myself included, that didn't get their opportunity
in rugby because someone was injured,'' he said. ''It's a really good opportunity for everyone.”
McKenzie added that Cooper’s absence will give youngsters a chance to perform and demonstrate their skills in the competition. He termed Ben Lucas, Mike Harris, and Ben Tapuai as the most suitable
replacements for the Cooper in the fly half role.
However, Reds will surely miss the services of Cooper, who finished as their and tournaments top scorer during the 2011 Super Rugby championship.
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