Ewen McKenzie praises Quade Cooper’s performance in Semi-final win over Blues - Rugby
Queensland Reds head coach, Ewen McKenzie, has praised his star fly half Quade Cooper for his exceptional performance in their 2011 Super Rugby semi-final game against the Blues, which the Reds won 30 – 13 at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, July 2.
McKenzie has termed some of the moves displayed by Cooper in the crunch game as
“magical.” He was talking to media in Brisbane on Saturday at the end of the semi-final match.
McKenzie praised Cooper’s skills and abilities and his consistency throughout the season. He acknowledged Cooper’s efforts, particularly in those passages of play in which Blues defence was simply impassable and yet Cooper was able to find the space to create
scoring opportunities.
McKenzie said, “I'm not going to take any coaching credit for that, that was just pure Quade." He also credited Cooper for the part he played in the defence. He said, “He was everywhere in that game, I think I said the other day that the bigger the stage
the more he likes it. And it wasn't just his attack; He worked very, very hard in defence.”
Earlier in the week, Blues fly half Stephen Brett locked horn with Cooper and made some harsh comments about the Wallabies’ star in both the press and on social networking site Twitter. However, Cooper has shown his class and positive attitude on the field
in which he not only scored 10 points to become the leading top scorer of the season but has also assisted other players to score.
McKenzie particularly pointed out his centre’s Ben Tapuai's 29th minute try set up by Cooper. He added, “I'm still working out how he(Cooper) set up Tapuai's try.”
McKenzie himself has expressed his satisfaction on his contributions to the side and its development over the years. He has expressed his delight on taking his team to the Super Rugby final after a break of 16 years. McKenzie further added, “We're just pleased
to be making a contribution and not just sitting and watching on TV.”
Reds will host the winner of the Stormers vs. Crusaders encounter in the 2011 Super Rugby final on Saturday, July 9.
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