Cooper: Be brave, not boring
Injured Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper has urged his teammates to revert to a more traditional attacking style of play.
Cooper, the latest big-name Wallaby casualty to be ruled out of the Rugby Championship, slammed coach Robbie Deans’ conservative game plan.
The mercurial playmaker said he had been left frustrated by the territory-based approach and believes Rugby Union would lose its appeal in Australia if the Wallabies continue with their current strategy.
"I know we're competing against a lot of other sports in this country," said Cooper.
"If people want to go out there and play a boring brand of football then there's other guys they can pick to do that.
"I don't want to walk off the field wondering whether I should have tried this or tried that.
"That's where you get the confidence from as a team because when things come off you feel 10-feet tall.
"That's something I'm really passionate about."
Cooper’s natural attacking flair led to the Wallaby flyhalf making a number of errors in the narrow come-from-behind win over the Pumas.
He refused to apologise for his mistakes and insisted Australia must play a high-risk expansive game or face the likelihood of further disappointment.
"I just put (the errors) down to the fact I'd rather go down swinging and try and make our attack work," said Cooper, who undergoes knee surgery on Friday.
"It's the only way we're going to beat the All Blacks.
"I'd much rather go down swinging and throwing the punches to put yourself in a winning position than come out saying we kept it close.
"It's okay if you come close but it's not if you never look like beating them.
"We can't be afraid. We should have respect for them but also have enough faith in our own ability."
Cooper backed likeminded Rebels utility back Kurtley Beale to take over his number ten jersey for next weekend’s clash with the Springboks in Pretoria.
"He'll want to try and spark things and take the game on," he said.
"That's what I saw my role as – to attack the game and try and make it a brand of rugby that people want to watch."
