Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper says his eight-year tenure will be tinged with regret that his sides did not deliver on their true potential in big matches.
Cooper struck a dejected figure after his farewell season came to a shuddering halt with a 32-16 loss to the Waratahs at the Sydney Football Stadium last night.
“It sums up our night,” Cooper said after being locked out of the press conference by bungling Waratahs officials and forced to do an impromptu in the corridor.
And the loss, the affable Taranaki man said, may have summed up his Super 14 coaching career.
“It probably has [summed up my tenure]. It’s frustrating for me and I’ll leave Super 14 very frustrated at not taking wins like we should have,” he said.
Cooper’s reign has included five semifinals appearances in eight years including the lost fog final against the Crusaders in 2006.
This year he will settle for sixth despite boasting 12 current or former All Blacks in Sydney.
In truth Cooper has done well to turn things around after three losses in South Africa, a heart breaking home loss to the Sharks and a draw with the Crusaders threatened to derail his farewell season early.
Adjustments at the breakdown, the growth of first-five Aaron Cruden the brilliance of backs like Ma’a Nonu, Hosea Gear and Cory Jane and the leadership of Andrew Hore took them within reach of the playoffs.
But he believed the Waratahs proved one knock out match too many.
“It’s been a big call on these guys. It’s been live or die for the past five weeks and the mental side may have been a [factor]. We did mistakes I hadn’t seen before,” Cooper said.
“Some of the big guns were making mistakes in our team. Those drop balls, passes that weren’t sticking may have been that.”
Cooper believed his side were a good chance after trailing just 18-9 at halftime despite playing with next to no ball.
However, he said Waratahs wing Drew Mitchell’s second try, just after halftime had been the killer blow.
“They tried their hearts out, you can’t take that away, but we just didn’t get any luck really,” he said.
“We were quite confident at halftime. All we had to do was hold onto the ball and then that try, that soft try we gave away really broke us I think.
“We started to play catch up and they were too good a team to play catch up and then the golden oldies [scrums], nothing went our way, but that’s the way it is.”
Cooper admitted the chip and chase tactics of the Waratahs backs had caught his side on the hop.
“It really worked for them. We didn’t think they would do that. We thought they’d be structured and build. Our defence was pretty good, but we didn’t cover those kicks well enough.”
Cooper said his side could hold their heads high despite the disappointing finish to the season.
“They never give up and that’s the beauty of coaching this group. I’ve had eight years with this group and really enjoyed my time because they are courageous guys, tough guys. Things just didn’t go our way tonight.
“I feel the Hurricanes are in good stead with two very good coaches coming in Mark Hammett and Alama Ieremia, with Jono Phillips… it’s time for… It’s time for Colin Cooper to move on.”