Robbie Deans defends Quade Cooper despite his unimpressive record in RWC - Rugby News
Wallabies head coach, Robbie Deans, has defended his player, Quade Cooper, despite his ongoing poor show in the Rugby World Cup 2011. Cooper has been consistently under fire from various circles of media and rugby critics since the final of the Tri-Nations
Cup 2011. Cooper is not at his best at the moment and has been facing harsh criticism for his uneven output. However, Robbie Deans has supported Cooper for his brilliant track record and said that he is a confident fly-half and will regain his rhythm while
playing the semi-final against All Blacks.
The fly-half was accused by New Zealanders for kneeing Richie McCaw in the head during the final of that tournament but was lucky to escape from any kind of ban which could disrupt his RWC. However, the kicking specialist slumped into a further state of
helplessness when he failed to deliver in crucial matches for Wallabies.
Australia relies heavily on Quade Cooper as far as his kicking role is concerned. He has done a wonderful job in the past to elevate his side in difficult situations.
His first failure in the global showpiece cost the Wallabies a shock defeat at the hands of Ireland and a continued bad performance in the knockout match against Springboks could have been costly.
Luckily, Cooper is still in the good books of his boss, who is expecting better efforts from him in the next crucial game. Deans said that, “He's a pretty resilient character, Quade, as you've already seen. He's delighted, as we all are, that we got through
that challenge and he was a part of that. He did some good things within that that were the point of difference on occasions.”
The Coach further stated that he is also aware of his troubles and stated, “Clearly, he wouldn't have been happy with his performance, but everyone made mistakes. Some of our best (performers) made mistakes, but collectively
they worked their way through it. We're confident he'll bounce back.”
Hopefully Cooper can get back to his winning form back before the major clash between New Zealand and Australia.
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