'I want the Reds to do well': No gloating from Quade after triumphant return

Quade Cooper says he has no beef with his Queensland teammates and wishes nothing but the best for the Reds franchise despite his messy off-season departure.

Cooper had the last laugh in his return to Suncorp Stadium, helping the Rebels to a 32-13 win against the Reds as he and halves partner Will Genia turned villains against the side they once helped lead to a Super Rugby championship.

Both teams had studiously avoided talking about Cooper’s return, with Queensland wags even labelling him “Voldemort” after the Harry Potter antagonist who must not be named.

And while the woeful Reds were their own worst enemies, Cooper and Genia directed their troops to perfection as the Rebels exploited their weaknesses to bounce back from a pair of losses in Africa to a win that puts them on top of the Australian conference.

The spotlight was always going to be on Cooper though and he responded with a performance that will only strengthen calls for his return to the Wallabies squad after being banished to club rugby last season after falling out of favour with Reds coach Brad Thorn.

Cooper refused to be drawn on Thorn but said he had no problems with his former teammates.

“It wasn’t the boys that didn’t want me and the boys are the ones I was playing against,” Cooper said.

“I put a lot of time and effort in with those guys, we worked our butts off in pre-seasons over the years together, played in many battles together and those are your brothers you go to war (with).

“I don’t want to see them go down, I want to get the win when we play against them but I’m always supporting them.

“I want this franchise to do well and it’s a little bit sad to see when they’re struggling on and off the field a little bit.”

Cooper received a relatively warm reception, although with a crowd of just 10,745 in a stadium with a capacity of more than 50,000, he was never going to feel threatened.

He cupped his hand to his ear just before slotting a final conversion though, in his only concession to the haters.

“There were a few people that must have felt like I left them but it’s always like that,” he said.

“Whenever you play away, the cards are always going to be against you and this is no different.

“There are some very passionate Reds supporters here and they wanted their team to do well.

“We were very fortunate to get the win and we were just focusing in trying to get wins, particularly in our conference, and trying to get better.”

While the Reds had refused to talk about Cooper or Genia publicly during the week, Thorn said the pair had been discussed internally given their ability to impact on the game.

“We’re (not) talking publicly, making a big thing about it, we want to focus on us playing,” Thorn said.

“But obviously Will is a real force for them and we want to put pressure on him and I felt like we did put some pressure on early.

“And Quade can be a really dangerous guy with the footy.

“They were definitely guys that we talked about in preparation. You always respect your opponent and are aware of their strengths but we were really trying to work on our game getting better.”

Rebels coach Dave Wessels was pleased for his returning pair.

“I think for both those guys, this place means a lot to them,” he said.

“The reality of professional sport is that very few people stay at one team for their whole careers.

“I’m delighted that they’re part of our family now and obviously have bought in really well.

“They were instrumental tonight in controlling the game and the tempo of the game.

“But this is a special place for them and they’ve also been very grateful for all the support they still get from Queenslanders.”

Cooper had a hand in two of the Rebels’ four tries but it was the Reds’ errors that were most costly and will be most disappointing after a pair of wins that helped them back into the Australian conference.

While they clawed their way back to 6-6 later in the first half despite a dearth of possession, the Reds conceded three tries in eight minutes either side of the break to lose contact with the Rebels.

In the second half particularly, the Reds were outplayed in almost every facet of the game.

Their vaunted scrum and set piece took a battering at the hands of a Rebels outfit that had every reason to fade on the back of a tough South African tour.

Dropped balls, poor passes, and missed tackles hurt a Reds outfit that had so talked up focusing on its own efforts this week it seemed to tie itself in knots.

Cooper, who played 119 games for Queensland before falling out of favour with Thorn and being banished to club rugby last year, had influence on the game but was far from the difference between the two sides.

Cooper’s pinpoint kick for Jack Maddocks just over a minute before the break allowed the Rebels winger to fly high and take the ball over Reds fullback Hamish Stewart for the opening try of the match.

The Reds had clawed their way back to 6-6 in the 33rd minute, somehow defying a massive lack of possession to draw level as Bryce Hegarty slotted his second penalty of the half but the Rebels’ pressure eventually told, with the Maddocks try a blow before the break. 

But in conceding two more in the opening seven minutes of the second half, the Reds handed the game to the Rebels.

All week the Reds had tried to ignore the return of Genia and Cooper but both played a part in the Rebels’ dominance, especially in the second half as frustration seemed to get the best of the Reds.

After setting up Maddocks’ first try with a pinpoint cross, Cooper engineered his second when he twice grubbered a loose ball which the flyer gleefully pounced on to score.

Any chance of a Reds fightback was snuffed out when Brandon Paenga-Amosa’s try in the 60th minute was disallowed after Tate McDermott was ruled to have knocked on under pressure from Genia.

The Reds finally crossed, through Taniela Tupou but the Rebels scored again through Rob Leota to give the Rebels a bonus point victory.

RESULT

Rebels 32

Tries: Jack Maddocks 2, Anaru Rangi, Rob Leota

Cons: Quade Cooper 3

Pens: Cooper 2

Reds 13

Tries: Taniela Tupou

Cons: Bryce Hegarty

Pens: Hegarty 2

 

Click Here: Maori All Blacks Store