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After Saturday’s almost faultless performance against the Bulls at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Quade Cooper must surely be the toast of the town Down Under.
His performance was “almost faultless”; if it wasn’t for the poor goal-kicking it would have been flawless!
In more ways than one Cooper has managed to redefine the way flyhalves in particular, step past defenders.
He uses his hands, feet, head and eyes to bamboozle defenders – something I have not seen in rugby union for a long time. His handling skills are revolutionary to say the least: passing behind his back, behind the defender’s back, over his head, yes, from every angle in every direction. It is simply breathtaking to watch. On Saturday he ran the Bulls ragged with his incredible in- and outside step and adventurous running angles.
However, despite his incredible abilities, it is his combination and almost telepathic relationship with his halfback partner, Will Genia, which has been the secret element of his success. Genia, like George Gregan was to Stephan Larkham, is the one that is always scanning for attacking opportunities: he constantly checks where the defences are lined up; who is lined up in defence and on what side and then makes the decision to attack with either a flat or wide ball. The combination of Genia and Cooper has much to do with the degree of success Cooper achieves in any given match. Saturday was one of those days when the combination could do no wrong and produced the desired results.
While Cooper might be a very gifted stepper, passer and distributer of the rugby ball, he is not, in my opinion, the ideal flyhalf to take into a playoff at the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
Firstly, his goal kicking success record is one of the lowest in Super Rugby while his passing exploits tend to be high risk and prone to being disrupted or spoiled by intelligent defenders.
The Reds team, most of them young and adventurous players, started this audacious approach alongside Cooper last year and have developed a support plan “from behind”, which sees a player on hand to take a pass or pop pass from behind the ball carrier at all times.
While this works well for the Reds team at the moment, it is not a game strategy that can simply be adopted by any new combination or team.
Therein lies the challenge for Robbie Deans as he contemplates his first choice flyhalf position for the RWC. Matt Giteau or Quade Cooper? Both are not the best of goal kickers, which means the goal kicking role will probably have to fall on the shoulders of young James O’Connor or Kurtley Beale. Beale has proven to be the best goal kicker in Australian rugby at this time and will have the advantage over O’Connor come selection time.
Another aspect against the selection of Cooper as the first choice flyhalf for Australia is the fact that while Cooper seems to find enough time and space in Super Rugby, it is a fact that time and space gets closed down much quicker at the highest level of the game, especially in the modern era of the game where specialised match analysis and wall-like defensive structures have become standard.
Unlike Australia, the other main contenders for the RWC crown don't have a goal kicking dilemma in that Johnny Wilkinson and Toby Flood (England) are top class goal kickers while South Africa have Morne Steyn and Peter Grant (and Frans Steyn) and New Zealand, Daniel Carter and Luke McAllister.
So while the flamboyant Quade Cooper has brought a new dimension to the game of rugby union with his mesmerising running and passing skills, I am not too sure if it will be of any value to the Wallabies if and when they line up in the playoffs of the RWC. It is precision goal-kicking that will once again be the deciding factor at the RWC.
Gary Boshoff is a former SARU player and current Afrikaans rugby commentator on SuperSport.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
After Saturday’s almost faultless performance against the Bulls at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Quade Cooper must surely be the toast of the town Down Under.
His performance was “almost faultless”; if it wasn’t for the poor goal-kicking it would have been flawless!
In more ways than one Cooper has managed to redefine the way flyhalves in particular, step past defenders.
He uses his hands, feet, head and eyes to bamboozle defenders – something I have not seen in rugby union for a long time. His handling skills are revolutionary to say the least: passing behind his back, behind the defender’s back, over his head, yes, from every angle in every direction. It is simply breathtaking to watch. On Saturday he ran the Bulls ragged with his incredible in- and outside step and adventurous running angles.
However, despite his incredible abilities, it is his combination and almost telepathic relationship with his halfback partner, Will Genia, which has been the secret element of his success. Genia, like George Gregan was to Stephan Larkham, is the one that is always scanning for attacking opportunities: he constantly checks where the defences are lined up; who is lined up in defence and on what side and then makes the decision to attack with either a flat or wide ball. The combination of Genia and Cooper has much to do with the degree of success Cooper achieves in any given match. Saturday was one of those days when the combination could do no wrong and produced the desired results.
While Cooper might be a very gifted stepper, passer and distributer of the rugby ball, he is not, in my opinion, the ideal flyhalf to take into a playoff at the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
Firstly, his goal kicking success record is one of the lowest in Super Rugby while his passing exploits tend to be high risk and prone to being disrupted or spoiled by intelligent defenders.
The Reds team, most of them young and adventurous players, started this audacious approach alongside Cooper last year and have developed a support plan “from behind”, which sees a player on hand to take a pass or pop pass from behind the ball carrier at all times.
While this works well for the Reds team at the moment, it is not a game strategy that can simply be adopted by any new combination or team.
Therein lies the challenge for Robbie Deans as he contemplates his first choice flyhalf position for the RWC. Matt Giteau or Quade Cooper? Both are not the best of goal kickers, which means the goal kicking role will probably have to fall on the shoulders of young James O’Connor or Kurtley Beale. Beale has proven to be the best goal kicker in Australian rugby at this time and will have the advantage over O’Connor come selection time.
Another aspect against the selection of Cooper as the first choice flyhalf for Australia is the fact that while Cooper seems to find enough time and space in Super Rugby, it is a fact that time and space gets closed down much quicker at the highest level of the game, especially in the modern era of the game where specialised match analysis and wall-like defensive structures have become standard.
Unlike Australia, the other main contenders for the RWC crown don't have a goal kicking dilemma in that Johnny Wilkinson and Toby Flood (England) are top class goal kickers while South Africa have Morne Steyn and Peter Grant (and Frans Steyn) and New Zealand, Daniel Carter and Luke McAllister.
So while the flamboyant Quade Cooper has brought a new dimension to the game of rugby union with his mesmerising running and passing skills, I am not too sure if it will be of any value to the Wallabies if and when they line up in the playoffs of the RWC. It is precision goal-kicking that will once again be the deciding factor at the RWC.
Gary Boshoff is a former SARU player and current Afrikaans rugby commentator on SuperSport.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
