Quade Cooper admits he couldn’t have finished 2013 further removed from where he ended 2012 after he orchestrated a thrilling Wallabies triumph over Wales at Millennium Stadium.
Persona non grata in Wallabies ranks 12 months ago after describing the team environment as toxic, Cooper capped his transformation with a man-of-the-match display in his 50th Test.
The playmaker was at his bewildering best in a drama-filled 75-minute effort which showcased all his skills as Australia finished their European tour with a 30-26 victory.
Cooper has spent the bulk of his Wallabies’ career swinging from entertaining hero to pantomime villain and his 50th game encapsulated both as he finished the classic, high-paced encounter in the sin-bin.
While he produced his fair share of attacking magic, including a wonderful flick pass to set up a try, an early tackle ruling by referee Wayne Barnes against the five-eighth reaped a yellow card which left Australia hanging on for dear life with only 14 men for the last five minutes.
Cooper was captain at the time but the controversial call meant the Wallabies had to produce their “gutsiest effort of the year”, according to fullback Israel Folau, to repel waves of Welsh attack.
Only desperate defence and a 100 per cent goalkicking return by Christian Leali’ifano, who scored 20 points, ensured Australia’s spectacular attacking game was rewarded with a richly-deserved victory.
“I was sitting on the sideline so filthy with myself, I didn’t want to let the team down,” Cooper said.
“But it’s a sign of a good team when … everything is going against us, everybody pulled together and lifted a little bit more.”
The gripping three-tries-to-two win gave Australia their first four-match streak in five years and ensured Ewen McKenzie finished his first season in charge with a break-even 6-6 record.
It also gives the Wallabies a firm foundation to build on ahead of the 2015 World Cup and makes the deflation of the mid-year series loss to the British and Irish Lions a more distant memory.
Cooper said he “loved every minute” of the end-of-season tour which could have so easily been a grand slam triumph if not for a second-half meltdown in the 20-13 loss to England four weeks ago.
“I’m fortunate to have finished the year off like this, it’s something I’ve always worked towards,” he said.
“From where I was at a year ago it wouldn’t have been possible to think where I would be today, but it proves that hard work and dedication, and sticking with something you love and giving it back to your team mates … can lead to things.”
The Wallabies fortunes have mirrored Cooper’s this year as they fell to the Lions while he was banished by then coach Robbie Deans, and struggled like him at the start of The Rugby Championship, before clicking into gear and offering renewed hope.
“I feel this tour has put us ahead of where we thought we would be,” said Cooper, who praised the squad’s unity since six players were stood down for a late night in Dublin.
“We’ve made a lot of things [happen] that we didn’t think were possible as a team, in terms of culture.
“Everyone’s pulled together tight and we’ve come out the other side a bigger and better team.
“I know that those things will put us in a position to be the best in the world.”
