All Blacks great Jeff Wilson believes that veteran Quade Cooper should not be starting at fly-half for the Wallabies after a poor start to the Rugby Championship.
Since experienced coach Eddie Jones returned to the Wallabies, he has looked to Cooper to run the ship on the field. However, it has been a shocking start for the duo as Australia added a loss to Argentina to the drubbing received in South Africa in round one.
It is certainly not the fairytale return for Jones, who was hailed as a saviour upon his return to the helm of his home country.
Next up for the Wallabies is a tricky Bledisloe Test against the All Blacks, as Jones will be looking to turn the Wallabies’ fortunes against their fierce rivals.
Should not start
Former All Black Wilson did not mince his words when explaining that he feels Cooper is not the right man to be starting at pivot for the Wallabies.
“The Wallabies will look at the Bledisloe Cup and see they can completely turn their season around in one game,” Wilson said.
“Eddie will know that they’ll still find a way to get confidence even though they’ve lost two games.
“I still can’t understand why is Quade Cooper running this team because he’s not delivering.
“We know he doesn’t deliver against the All Blacks. How can he be wearing the No.10 jersey in two weeks’ time? Seriously?”
“More time in the saddle”
Meanwhile, former All Black Stephen Bates feels that Cooper needs time on the park after recovering from a long-term injury.
“He’s coming back from an Achilles injury; he needs more time in the saddle,” he said.
“What I do really like about Eddie Jones is all the mind games that he plays. I really enjoy it, I do.
“The reason why I enjoy it is it gets people talking. He’s not your stereotypical coach who says, ‘Yeah I hope we play well, it will be a good battle’.
“He plays mind games and gets people talking about the Test, and that’s what we want.”
A small positive for the Wallabies is the emergence of young fly-half Carter Gordon, who showed he is comfortable at Test level after impressing in his first two caps.
It will be fascinating to see if Jones turns to the young star instead of Cooper next time out.
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The article All Blacks legend delivers scathing verdict on Quade Cooper’s form appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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