LOVE HIM OR hate him, it’s good to have Quade Cooper back in Super Rugby.
After 2018 saw him exiled from Brad Thorn’s Reds, the mercurial 30-year-old has made his comeback in recent weeks for the Melbourne Rebels, who have won their opening two games of the 2019 campaign.
Cooper last played for the Wallabies in 2017 but his encouraging performances have already prompted Michael Cheika to say he has “no doubt [Cooper] will come into strong contention for selection” if he continues as he’s started.
Cooper – who has 70 Test caps – spent last year playing club rugby with Souths and featured in the National Rugby Championship for Brisbane City.
Rebels head coach Dave Wessels took something of a punt in signing Cooper but the early signs are promising and the out-half appears to have bought firmly into the project in Melbourne.
The Rebels beat a New Zealand team for the first time since 2015 over the weekend, downing the Highlanders 24-19 to follow up their opening-round 34-27 victory away to Australian rivals the Brumbies.
Reeling back the years, Cooper’s has combined strongly with Will Genia in the halfbacks.
Cooper has always been a thrillingly creative player and he has shone in that regard, with two assists against the Highlanders.
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The catch-pass skills under pressure for Jack Maddocks’ try above is the most eye-catching aspect of Cooper’s contribution, but there is good work off the ball to put himself into position to deliver the assist.
Two phases before the score, Cooper and Maddocks are over on the right-hand side of the Rebels attack.
Cooper [white] works infield as the Rebels make a carry off scrum-half Genia, and Maddocks [yellow] tracks his out-half.
Clearly, the Rebels’ backs understand that Cooper has the ability to put them into space and Maddocks is fast learning to work around his 10.
The pod of forwards in front of Cooper run excellent lines, with Isi Naisarani [blue below], Brad Wilkin [red] and Angus Cottrell [green] sitting the interior Highlanders defenders down.
Genia’s pass to Cooper is high and forces him to jump but Maddocks’ movement to Cooper’s outside shoulder presents him with an opportunity to demonstrate his handling skill – moving the ball across his body before he even lands.
The Highlanders will have been disappointed with their defensive reactions here, as Thomas Umaga-Jensen – after arriving late into the line – shoots up hard on Cooper [red below] but Waisake Naholo [blue] fails to adjust in onto Maddocks and drifts off.
Cooper’s skills do the rest to reward Maddocks’ off-the-ball work.
Later in the game, Cooper delivered a second try assist, this time with his right boot.
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Cooper’s well-weighted grubber kick tees up Billy Meakes to score this time, though there is obviously an element of fortune in the bounce of the ball evading the covering Bryn Gatland.
It’s noticeable just how flat Cooper is in this instance, taking the pass from Genia almost in line with the back of the ruck.
That helps him to draw in the Highlanders’ edge defender but this is part of a theme – playing flat has been perhaps the most exciting feature of the Rebels’ attack so far this year.
With that in mind, Cooper is ideally suited to the high-tempo style that Wessels and attack coach Shaun Berne – formerly of Leinster and Old Belvedere – are encouraging, given how comfortable he is at making decisions close to defenders.
Cooper’s distribution has been sharp, with some beautiful passes in the two games so far, while the presence of Genia and the underrated Meakes on either side of him has taken playmaking pressure off Cooper at times.
Cooper has shown a willingness to take the ball into contact himself with 14 carries in total.
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Cooper carries the ball directly off a scrum against the Brumbies above and so eager are the Rebels to play flat, the out-half actually breaks the five-metre offside line by arriving too early, before Genia has passed.
That allows the Brumbies backline defence to also break the five-metre offside line in response but Cooper gets beyond the gainline and two flat phases later, the Rebels go close to scoring.
While Cooper has been willing in contact with ball in hand, there have been examples of the missed tackles historically associated with him, three against the Brumbies and three against the Highlanders.
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Henry Speight blasts past Cooper in the example above, although Genia certainly could have contributed to the tackle attempt from the inside.
While Cooper has missed tackles, it was notable how he improved defensively in his second game against the Highlanders, successfully completing 10 tackles.
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In the example above, Cooper works upfield on kick chase and tackles Josh Ioane, allowing Rebels hooker Anaru Rangi into position to win a valuable breakdown turnover for his team.
Later in the game, Cooper combined with Meakes for a choke tackle turnover on Umaga-Jensen, while the Rebels pair should certainly have had another in the first half after holding up Naholo, when the referee strangely told them to release from the tackle.
The Rebels have brought an aggressive mindset to defence this season – they can regularly be heard shouting “kill, kill” over the ref mic – and will hope that Cooper’s improvement in this area against the Highlanders is a sign of things to come.
Although he defends in the out-half slot off scrums, Cooper is positioned in the backfield on lineout defence – allowing him to use his counter-attacking skills after receiving kicks but also ensuring he is not targeted by opposition strike runners.
Cooper has kicked the ball in play 11 times in his two games, including his assist for Meakes, and shown his class on a couple of occasions.
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Irishman Eoin Toolan is now the Rebels’ kicking coach, as well as working as the club’s head performance analyst, and Cooper’s skills in this area give the Melbourne side another weapon.
Cooper’s assist for Meakes followed a kicked try assist from Meakes for Maddocks in the victory over the Brumbies, showing the promise of his area of their game under Toolan’s guidance.
The skillset Cooper brings to the Rebels is no surprise, although it has been impressive how quickly he has settled in to make an impact after a year playing club rugby and NRC. There have been errors – some forced offloads among the missed tackles – but the early signs bode well.
Perhaps as encouraging as anything has been Cooper’s positive body language and work rate.
There was a humorous exchange of head-patting with the Brumbies’ Joe Powell but Cooper has largely been a calm and calming presence so far for the Rebels.
It’s worth stressing that the quality around him – Genia’s control, the grit of lock pair Matt Philip and Luke Jones, the calm influence of captain Dane Haylett-Petty, Rangi’s destructive touches, and more – has made life easier for Cooper.
But, clearly, Cheika is as excited.
“He played a smart game in the first game out,” said Cheika on the Wallabies Facebook page. “He played nice and flat and he was very active in organising the play.
“But also looking to attack himself a little bit… always with the flair that he brings to the game. It is just a matter of him getting more games in the saddle, I think. More opportunities to play at the highest level against the best teams.
“And with that, I have no doubt he will come into strong contention for selection.”
So, Quade Cooper is back?
It’s too early to shout it from the rooftops but the early signs in Melbourne are promising.
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