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Cape Town - All Black captain Richie McCaw has admitted that his duel with Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper became personal and somewhat bitter.
Cooper incensed the New Zealand public last year when he struck his knee into the face of the New Zealand skipper during a Tri-Nations Test in Brisbane which Australia won 25-20.
And in his newly released autobiography, The Open Side, McCaw admits the "deliberate" incident had caused him to lose sight of the game plan and target the Australian pivot.
According to the stuff.co.nz website, McCaw revealed the following about the incident: "There was a bit of post-game controversy around Quade Cooper's attempt to knee me in the head as he was extricating himself from a ruck," he wrote.
"The intent of what he was trying to do pissed me off more than the execution. Shortly after that happened, I was carrying and should have passed, but I lit up and I saw Quade standing in front of me and clattered into him instead.
"I was disappointed in myself doing that, letting it get personal. There's no need - players like Quade get sorted. Sooner or later they get their beans."
The All Blacks capped the year by beating the Wallabies in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals and went on to lift the title with victory over France in the final.
Cooper incensed the New Zealand public last year when he struck his knee into the face of the New Zealand skipper during a Tri-Nations Test in Brisbane which Australia won 25-20.
And in his newly released autobiography, The Open Side, McCaw admits the "deliberate" incident had caused him to lose sight of the game plan and target the Australian pivot.
According to the stuff.co.nz website, McCaw revealed the following about the incident: "There was a bit of post-game controversy around Quade Cooper's attempt to knee me in the head as he was extricating himself from a ruck," he wrote.
"The intent of what he was trying to do pissed me off more than the execution. Shortly after that happened, I was carrying and should have passed, but I lit up and I saw Quade standing in front of me and clattered into him instead.
"I was disappointed in myself doing that, letting it get personal. There's no need - players like Quade get sorted. Sooner or later they get their beans."
The All Blacks capped the year by beating the Wallabies in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals and went on to lift the title with victory over France in the final.
