Quade Cooper ‘annoyed’ by Eddie Jones’ ‘lack of respect’ in World Cup axing as fly-half opens up on Wallabies future
Wallabies fly-half Quade Cooper alongside former head coach Eddie Jones.
Gifted playmaker Quade Cooper admitted that he was “annoyed” by the circumstances surrounding his Rugby World Cup axing, and has also opened up on his Wallabies future.
The 36-year-old stated that he was not caught off-guard by Eddie Jones’ decision, but that the boss ‘lacked respect’ in how he revealed the news to him.
Cooper was a surprise omission from the global tournament as Jones decided to take a young squad to France.
It did not pay dividends as the Wallabies exited at the pool stages for the first time ever and the head coach subsequently resigned following the conclusion of the tournament.
Ignoring Jones’ calls
Jones apparently did not notify Cooper of his failure to make the final squad ahead of the official announcement, which led to the fly-half ignoring the head honcho when he did call “very late in the night.”
“For me, when I was left out, I wasn’t caught by surprise. I guess the thing that annoyed me more than anything was how it all went down. I guess the lack of respect and communication around how we got told,” he told the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast.
According to Cooper, Jones had told him earlier in the year that he was going to be included in the World Cup squad but ultimately changed his mind later down the line.
“Eddie told me before we played the All Blacks that I was going (to the World Cup) and that Darwin was going to be a crucial camp for me to make sure that I really sharpen up my game,” the playmaker said.
“There were a few areas where he felt I wasn’t doing it at the level I should be doing.
“Everybody wants to go to the World Cup but, at the end of the day, rugby is not the be all and end all.”
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Recall?
Now under the guidance of Joe Schmidt, the 36-year-old has kept his door open should the new head coach want to bring him back into the Wallabies fold.
Cooper would like to return to Test rugby, although the talented pivot understands that Schmidt might want to go in a different direction.
“In terms of the desire to continue to play, someone asked me this on Instagram and, of course, we’re playing the game so we want to play at the highest level,” he said.
“But I also understand that there has to be a time at some point where they put all their energy into these younger guys.
“I’m sure that’s what Joe Schmidt wants to do, rather than grabbing players who are over in Japan or over in Europe.
“They desperately want to keep their guys in Australia and, at the moment, the carrot that they have is guys playing for Australia.”
Experience
One advantage for Cooper could be the experience that he offers and how Schmidt could use that to bring through the younger players.
“It was only six or eight months ago that I played my last game. I didn’t feel out of place by no means,” the pivot added on the podcast featuring Wallaby legends Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell and Adam Ashley-Cooper.
“When we were coming through, if I was able to go back and change something about when myself, James (O’Connor) and KB (Beale) came through, it was the relationships we had with you guys.
“If we had you guys in the squad for longer… what we really needed was the guidance of the older guys.
“A lot of these younger guys take to it a lot better than we did when we were young, we just wanted everything now, now, now.”
