Before the initial test against England in Perth, Wallabies veteran Quade Cooper says his exchanges with former enemy game creator Marcus Smith are mutually beneficial and for the good of rugby.
Connecting to social media, Smith recently revealed that Cooper, 11 years older than him at 34, had “helped me a lot.” This included sharing the way Cooper analyzed the opposition and dealt with mistakes halfway through the game.
While this may raise the eyebrows of traditional rugby, Cooper says he is also learning from Smith, whom he described as a “great talent”, and other young players who challenged his own opinions.
“It’s more about being able to see things from the perspective of others and not just staying encapsulated by your own vision,” Cooper said. “It’s great to have a conversation, and especially with some of the guys who come from a different era.
“When it happened, I saw things in a certain way … the luxury today is that we have access to these types of people. When I was little, we couldn’t just send a direct Instagram message to Carlos Spencer and chat with him, everything was out of reach.
“For me he’s been able to have communication in both ways, to be able to learn from them, to be able to understand what’s going through their minds, what also makes it work.”
Cooper said he wanted his teammates, rivals and rugby in general to thrive.
“We’re all here to help each other grow, we do a sport that’s a competitive sport, but at the end of the day we do the same sport,” Cooper said. “If you have the mindset that you’re trying to contain other people’s things and you’re trying to slow down another person’s growth, that’s such a negative way of living your life.”
Cooper, based in Japan, is in a three-way fight with James O’Connor and Noah Lolesio to take the Wallabies ’No. 10 jumper Saturday night at Optus Stadium. After a four-year absence, last year he returned to the international arena by surprise, playing five tests for five wins.
He did not join the Wallabies on his UK tour and did not face England. Australia lost three of three without Cooper at the helm.
Cooper said coach Dave Rennie kept players alert before the team’s announcement.
“There are players who are in a red-hot form, among guys who play in Japan and Australia,” he said. “In the last week, everything has been very disputed, the coaches keep everyone alert by cutting and changing the numbers and who is stuck with which person.
“There are no guarantees in all of this, so we do our best to make sure we’re ready and prepared, no matter who is told.”