Quade Cooper resigned to never playing for Wallabies again

HAVING been ignored by Wallabies coach Michael Cheika since June, Quade Cooper has slowly slipped down the flyhalf pecking order.

Quade Cooper is loving his time under Barbarians coach Alan Jones. Picture: Phil Hillyard

WILL Quade Cooper ever play for the Wallabies again?

Unlikely.

Australia coach Michael Cheika has not put a line through Cooper’s name, but he has three or four candidates ahead of Cooper in his pecking order for the No.10 jersey already, just two years out from a World Cup.

At 29, Cooper - who has played 70 Tests - faces the grim prospect of never playing international rugby again, but he remains philosophical about his situation.

“I have had enough seasons and games where people feel I have to prove something to them, whether it be coaches, punters or the media, now I only to prove things to myself,” Cooper told the Daily Telegraph.

Quade Cooper is loving his time under Barbarians coach Alan Jones. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“Selection is beyond my control. If you worry about things that are out of your control you’re not going to find happiness within yourself.

“I am one of 200 professional players in Australia, we all want to play for the Wallabies, that is why we play the game, but I don’t get to decide if that happens.”

Cooper’s fall from grace has been bizarre. Cheika is not the first Wallabies coach to axe him - Cooper has been dumped by Robbie Deans and Ewen McKenzie previously.

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But having signed a three-year deal to return to Queensland from France last year, he remains one of the highest paid players in Australia.

Yet he is plying his trade in the National Rugby Championship while the Wallabies went through the entire Rugby Championship and third Bledisloe not calling him into the squad.

Bernard Foley is the nation’s premier playmaker and will wear the No.10 jersey for every big game unless injured.

Cheika then prefers Kurtley Beale and Reece Hodge as backups for the role in his starting side, while Karmichael Hunt and Duncan Paia’aua are fringe contenders in the squad. None of them start at five-eighth in Super Rugby.

Surely Cooper has a point to prove when lining up against the Wallabies when captaining Alan Jones’ Barbarians side at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

“No, it’s about doing this for myself,” Cooper said.

“Every season there is a different reason I need to prove myself, but this is an opportunity to do this for myself, because the pressure is not on me to go out there to do this for anyone else.

“Whether I like it or not there will always be judgment, but here I can play the way I want to play.”

Cooper has endured hefty criticism throughout his career, and Wallaby coaches have reacted to his rocks or diamond performances by bringing him in and out of teams.

Has Cooper ever had a coach that has got the best out of him?

“When I look back, in 2010 and 2011 when Ewen was coaching the Reds, and Jim McKay was the attack coach, we had a lot of trust, and that bond was hard to break,” Cooper said.

“I knew that when I was on the field, no matter what I did, a chip kick, flick pass, they would back me 100 per cent.

“There were times I would make a mistake and I knew Ewen would go to Jim, and Jim would take a bullet for me.

Quade Cooper hasn’t played a Test since June.

“That’s what our relationship was, it made me feel 10 foot tall when I was out on the field.”

Interestingly, Cooper has felt a similar vibe under Grand Slam-winning coach Jones all week in camp with the Baa-Baas.

“It is fantastic to be coached by Alan who has won everything that can be won,” Cooper said.

“He is all about the players and the team and having confidence, mistakes are part of the game, no one is perfect on the field, but you move on.

“He is about empowering you as a person and a player, and I will have the chance to play the game how I want to play it.”

Originally published as Quade Cooper resigned to never playing for Wallabies again