Quade Cooper restored to Wallabies backline

AUSTRALIA stand-off Quade Cooper cranked up the pressure on himself and his team as they began final preparations for their Rugby Championship clash with New Zealand tomorrow at Eden Park in Auckland.

Cooper was recalled to the side yesterday, 10 months after suffering a knee injury at the same ground during the World Cup. However, the New Zealand-born player was not prepared to discuss his return, or answer queries about facing the All Blacks again, when he spoke to the press in Sydney.

“That’s all I want to say is, I’m back. I’m fit, healthy – I’m ready to go. And I’ll see everybody at Eden Park,” Cooper said before abruptly ending the interview.

Asked if he had anything else to add, he replied: “No, that’s it”. The exchange lasted 10 seconds.

All but untouchable when the mood takes him at Super Rugby level, Cooper has struggled to impose his will on Test matches, particularly against the All Blacks. His most memorable meltdown came during the World Cup semi-final loss when he was jeered from the time he kicked the ball into touch from the opening whistle and played poorly thereafter.

Yesterday’s walkout caused a storm in Australia, where Wallabies’ coach Robbie Deans has come under pressure after his side were beaten 27-19 by the All Blacks last week in Sydney. Media reported before the competition began that the New Zealander’s job would be under threat if the Wallabies did not win the Rugby Championship or regain the Bledisloe Cup from the All Blacks, who have held it since 2003.

Former Wallabies coach Alan Jones added fuel to the fire when he told New Zealand radio
station LiveSport he thought Deans was “out of his depth”.

Australia have not beaten the All Blacks at Eden Park since 1986 and Deans reinstated Cooper after their stilted performance last week in Sydney offered little creativity and enterprise.

“Quade will be very keen to get back out there and play,” Deans said. “These blokes who play at this level understand you play in hostile environments, 
it’s about what you do, how you respond.

“Tough experiences produce one of two responses. Either you build resilience and develop your toughness and keep going, or you opt out. And I think you’ll see a good response.”

Deans may have unwittingly added to the pressure with his decision to drop full-back
Kurtley Beale, widely regarded as a world-class talent, after an uncharacteristically poor
performance against New Zealand last week.

“He’s still part of the group and there’s no doubt he’ll re-establish himself but he wasn’t a bundle of confidence last week and we need blokes this week who are,” Deans said.