Quade Cooper
Injured Queensland Reds and Wallabies fly half Quade Cooper sat down with Chris Garry last week to discuss a dramatic year for his code and club.
Cooper reveals how he helped lure the brightest talent in world rugby, Taniela “Tongan Thor” Tupou, from the clutches of the All Blacks to the Reds, why Queensland should have hit the player market hard following their Super Rugby triumph in 2011, when he will return from injury … and predicts Karmichael Hunt will make the Wallabies’ World Cup squad.
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WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE REDS?
Cooper said the Reds were too passive in the player market following their 2011 Super Rugby premiership and should have refreshed the squad following their success.
The Reds stuck with almost exactly the same squad in the three seasons following their title.
They let seven frontline players go at the end of last season, in which they won just five games, and signed James O’Connor and Karmichael Hunt among others.
“The biggest thing (we needed) was recruiting.
In 2011 we won the competition and then every man and his dog wanted to knock us off. Once you win the competition, you become the hunted.
At that stage, we needed to make some hard decisions and upscale our team … we won the competition but a lot of things went our way. It is good that now we have made some tough decisions and we have recruited very well.
We now have confidence that we are moving forward as a team and an organisation. We can’t just forget about last season though because we need to learn our lessons from that too.”
TONGAN THOR
Cooper has been dubbed the Reds recruitment officer after it was revealed his cold call to Auckland’s Taniela Tupou was a major factor in the teenager’s decision to reject more lucrative offers from around the world.
Cooper said all he did was tell Taniela, a rampaging prop who became a YouTube sensation, to trust his instincts and not let outside forces dictate his future.
“The Reds heard I was his favourite player and just asked if I could chat to him, and I just told him to back his own instincts.
I met him at Auckland’s airport actually before my 100th game and I didn’t realise it was him.
I just thought it was another big kid from New Zealand. We just got a photo together and then when I spoke to him recently, he was like ‘Yeah, remember me?’ and I was like ‘Oh yeah, I remember you’.
He said I was his favourite player and for me it is great to know players look up to you.
I remember when I came to the Reds, I was in awe of Chris Latham.
One of my biggest motivators was to play alongside him and the only way I could do that was to train harder. There is so much ahead of him.
Taniela is only 18 … to sign a guy like him who was hotly sought after by so many clubs, not only in Australia and New Zealand but France and England, should give our supporters a lot of confidence that people want to play for the Reds.”
KARMICHAEL HUNT AND JAMES O’OCONNOR
The Reds have made two of their biggest signings in the past month.
Hunt and O’Connor are crowd-attracting stars who will significantly improve the Reds’ spluttering backline. Cooper said he backed both to make a major impact in their first season and said Hunt would be on the plane to London for next year’s World Cup.
“Yeah, I’d say he would (make the World Cup).
The thing with Karmichael is he will be a great asset for Australian Rugby Union and he will want to make the World Cup.
He’s such a competitive guy. he will do all he can to be a success and then put himself in the frame for the Wallabies.
That’s the ultimate goal in rugby union — the World Cup. I just can’t wait to pick his brain.
I have only met him at promotional things but everyone who has come in contact with him speaks so highly of him. The biggest thing for me is that he brings so much experience. He’s played rugby league at the highest level.
He’s gone to France to experience a different culture and won a Heineken Cup. Then he’s had four years in the AFL. Mentally, he must be so strong.
For James, I think it just makes sense for him to come here. His family is on the Gold Coast, so the Reds make sense. We are all excited about him coming here … to add a guy of his ability to this team will make a huge difference.
INJURY RETURN
Cooper has not played a game of rugby since May when he injured the AC joint in his shoulder which required surgery to fix.
“I’m not exactly sure when I will be back.
The Spring Tour I will be ready for, as that’s a fair way away. I think I am anywhere from two to five weeks away. I don’t want to come back too early.
I haven’t done any tackling practice yet but I have been running around with the team. I have been hit a few times. I know I’m not far away.
I am gaining confidence with it. It is so tough to watch. When I watched the boys go through a few low points in the Rugby Championship, it hit so hard.
Even the end of the Reds season and the NRC, I just want to be playing for any team I’m involved with.”