Wallabies latest – Cooper to hide on wing
3 Aug 2011
Keo.co.za brings you news from the Wallabies’ camp.
Cooper to hide on wing – The Wallabies will play Digby Ioane at flyhalf and Quade Cooper on the wing when the team lines up on defence this weekend.
The Reds employed a similar tactic during the Super Rugby tournament, playing Cooper at wing or fullback where his weak tackling would be less exposed. The Wallabies have already adopted a similar strategy in the Tri-Nations, moving Ioane to the flyhalf defensive channel during the Test in Sydney, and will persist with this strategy when they tackle the All Blacks.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Ioane has been training in the position all week in anticipation of a massive All Blacks onslaught. Aside from the powerful All Blacks’ loose forwards, Ioane will also have to keep an eye on the 10-12 combination of Dan Carter and Sonny Bill Williams.
The Wallabies believe this strategy has multiple benefits, as having Cooper back gives them more options on the counter-attack should the All Blacks choose to kick.
22 Comments
3 Aug 2011, 08:14 am
duh, how is this news when cooper has been doing this all along? weak dragons
3 Aug 2011, 08:18 am
Interesting….how long can they keep this up until some finds a weakness in this set-up.
3 Aug 2011, 08:42 am
What an admission of defeat to Cooper’s shocking defense. Why don’t they just force to him to raise it to international standards?
3 Aug 2011, 08:55 am
Hopefully Gear lines him up on the wing and steamrolls him… that would be beautiful!
3 Aug 2011, 09:18 am
crouching cooper hidden dragon!
sorry i couldn’t resist
3 Aug 2011, 09:30 am
interesting….
3 Aug 2011, 09:47 am
in the modern game its actually a masterful idea…nothing to do with this ‘weak cooper defence’ rubbish. cooper gets the kick from deep and has acres of space to counter attack with his freakish running skills or has ages of time to set up a play with his midfield. u dont have to stay where the number on your back says u should stay…smart ploy and worked for the super 15 champions
3 Aug 2011, 10:15 am
maybe the title should read – cooper to give his hiding from the wing…
3 Aug 2011, 10:24 am
Can only c that going wrong lol Cooper must feel like a Wally knowing he is a liability to his team in a certain aspect of the game……Cooper…..harden the f@?k up!!!!
3 Aug 2011, 10:30 am
I for one hope the Wallabies stuff the Kiwis. It will instill a slight sense of doubt in the kiwis ahead of the RWC!
3 Aug 2011, 10:36 am
With ploy’s like this i will be nervous for the Wallabies in the World Cup.
3 Aug 2011, 11:10 am
Its very clever coaching and maximising the strengths of each player.
Sometimes I wish the Boks had coaches who thought like this.
Morne Steyn was a revolving door
3 Aug 2011, 12:17 pm
I believe this to be clever coaching. You have the best attacking player in the world on the touch line waiting to collect any failed touch finding clearances, a fullback who is in the same mould. They collect they will exploit the widened gaps.
The mind games here are…Carter needs to be sure of his kicks so what does he do he kicks shallower kicks and he kicks less. how many kicks were turned into points for the Reds. it was always a bad up and under that got exploited.
This is turning a weakness into a strength. Mr Deans is making sure the ABs feel the pressure maximum time.
3 Aug 2011, 12:28 pm
Good to see Deans dealing with his team’s weakness in a decisive and pro-active way.
I’m slightly envious of the Wallabies in this regard – in South Africa a player like Cooper would be dropped for his defensive frailties, and be replaced with a player with an inferior skill-set- simply on the basis that his tackle success rate is a bit higher.
Brent Russel springs to mind. Although Adi Jacobs is a recent exception.
3 Aug 2011, 12:48 pm
@ali(ali)-14: The manner in which our rugby coaches ignored Brent Russell is a travesty.
3 Aug 2011, 12:50 pm
@BringItHomeBoks(bokfan1)-12: Disagree. Not too much wrong with his defense, he makes plenty of tackles. No other 10 in the world dominates tackles like Butch or Honiball, so that is not a standard to measure other 10′s. Also clear that guys like Lambie and Carter are good defenders, but they hardly dominate the tackle. Morne missed a couple of one-on-one tackles where he got stepped…probably would’ve happened to any player. Yes, he could have attacked the ball carrier more in trying to dominate the tackle. But to say he is a revolving door is simply untrue. That accolade is reserved for Bosman and Basson.
3 Aug 2011, 14:07 pm
@kaksioek(kaksioek)-15: totally. the decision to favour koen over russell during rwc03 pretty much sums up the prevailing mentality.
3 Aug 2011, 14:56 pm
Naas kon ook nie tekkel nie…
3 Aug 2011, 16:04 pm
This is why Cooper, for me, can never be mentioned in the same breath as any of the elite flyhalfs in the world. When your defence is so atrociously bad it forces your side to rearrange its entire defencive structure — you’re not world class, no matter how good you are on attack.
3 Aug 2011, 16:17 pm
@DAS(DAS)-19: agreed. but with gits off form and barnes out of the picture, he still remains oz’s best option. and Deans should be commended for actively seeking out a (potentially) viable solution
3 Aug 2011, 20:31 pm
@ali(ali)-20: I agree, Cooper is Oz’s best option at #10 currently. Funny you mention Berrick Barnes — he’s a guy I’ve always rated highly, and even in a loaded Aussie backline, there’s no way he would not be in my starting XV. Hope he recovers from his concussion problem in time for RWC.
4 Aug 2011, 10:01 am
@DAS(DAS)-19:
There is never a complete player at flyhalf or in fact in any position….thoey all have strengths and therefore weaknesses. Its what one does to maximise the strength of a player.
Problem here on this site keo chooses to write hide yet cooper is not hiding he wants to be first receiver, the coach wants him to be first receiver….why…he is the best attacker in world rugby…followed by beale then oconnor…they are the back three.
People wont rate him as the best and while they dont he will continue to run rings around your bokkie. So what if he cant defend at flyhalf but he will have to defend at wing.
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