Wallabies five-eighth Quade Cooper knocked back big-money offer from France to fight back into Wallaby contention
QUADE Cooper knocked back a $1.8 million-plus mega-deal to play in France so he could prove he didn’t have a glass jaw.
QUADE Cooper knocked back a $1.8 million-plus mega-deal to play in France so he could prove he didnÂ’t have a glass jaw.
We are not talking about a punch during his foray into boxing but the stressful crossroads in his rugby career late last year.
Sections of the rugby public in Australia had turned on the one-time golden boy and questioned whether he was up to the biggest Test occasions.
His clumsy verbal swipe at Robbie Deans’ Wallabies environment saw him ostracised even more.
In cricket terms, he was pigeon-holed as a flat track bully able to carve up the lesser lights but suspect when the All Blacks came out swinging.
Cooper knocked back the big money dangled by French club Montpellier so he could fight for another shot on the biggest stage with the Wallabies.
That’s what Saturday night’s recall is with Cooper in his favourite flyhalf role at his favourite Suncorp Stadium against South Africa.
Cooper never went public with the French offer last December when it would have sparked a tug-of-war frenzy in the media because he always wanted to re-sign with Australian rugby.
"Quade definitely wanted to prove a few things in Australia. He knocked back a great offer in France," Cooper’s manager Khoder Nasser revealed.
That Cooper’s extra resilience has been aided by last summer’s detour into boxing is unquestioned. That’s mental and physical.
"Boxing makes you look at yourself. You have to be real because it’s only you making the call on how hard you train and being honest about your weaknesses," Nasser said.
"And you’ve got to have balls to stick your head in any ring."
Cooper yesterday took his promotion to start in his 41st Test with a new calm.
He’s not motivated to produce by the booing of Kiwi fans. He wants this win on Saturday as an integral member of the Wallabies again.
"You can’t let it get you down or get to you," Cooper said of the heckling history.
"I look back a few years and maybe I let it get me at the (2011) World Cup. It was an interesting learning curve.
"I’ve matured since then. You know it (the heckling) is going to be there when you run out or catch or pass the ball.
"I just don’t let it surprise me."
The energy of support at Suncorp Stadium is the perfect setting for Saturday night.
Just don’t call it redemption night. Everything about Cooper this season has been about patience and the long road.
Even a big Test against the Boks will just be a stepping stone to more consistency and regaining the No.10 jersey full-time.