‘We didn’t have a plan’: Quade breaks silence on Eddie and World Cup axing

Decent: Firstly, how is life here in Japan?
Cooper: I’m good, mate. I’ve had a few niggly injuries. I fractured my cheekbone the other day in some friendly fire. It’s a little bit annoying, but I’m not too fussed. I’ve been spending time in the gym and doing extra running.

Your good mate Sonny Bill Williams said this week, when asked about Eddie Jones signing with Japan, “He lied to the players, he lied to the public, he lied to the Australian rugby union. What a disgrace”. How did it feel seeing Eddie appointed Japan coach on Wednesday night?
It’s an interesting thing. Coaches ask a lot of players. I sat in on meetings and the coaches asked players to show loyalty for the country. It’s quite a tough pill to swallow when you see some of the things that have transpired over the past few months. Players get one opportunity to play for Australia. I can’t change allegiances tomorrow if I wanted to. That’s an interesting aspect of a coach. It’s basically a merry-go-round. I just feel for the players. It’s the players who always draw the short straw. There was a lot asked of the players and put to us about our commitment to Australia and the cause of the World Cup.

Did you get a sense from Eddie that he didn’t want you at the World Cup?
To be honest, I just felt I wasn’t going to go. I just had a sense. You can read people’s energy. Especially in the last four years, my journey has been about development and the process. I have put myself into a place where my worth isn’t controlled by wearing a Wallabies jersey. It is a huge honour, though. I wanted the boys to do well, like Carter [Gordon]. I was quite upset because I felt I couldn’t help in any way. I had to sit back and watch things play out in front of me.

What happened on the day players found out who was in the World Cup squad? We now know Eddie was on a return flight to Australia trying to get his dog back from the UK. He didn’t call when he was supposed to, did he?
That says more about the importance of the players [to him]. A World Cup happens every four years. We have given and sacrificed a lot. We had a lot of meetings that were around that sense of being vulnerable. For guys to then not receive that type of response back, that was disappointing. I didn’t lose any sleep; I continued to move on. The day I got back from camp and was supposed to get the call, I just went through my process.

I felt more for the guys who I knew might not be able to handle that as well as I did. There needs to be an element of care from the coaches, like a phone call or doing it in person. I don’t know what the best process is, but just some care towards those guys would be all they would ask for.

Eddie’s version of events is that he eventually called and you didn’t answer. He got upset when we asked why you wouldn’t answer the phone. Is it true that he didn’t make a reasonable attempt to contact you?
(Laughs). Yeah, well, that’s close to the truth. The attempt at calls were very late in the night. I’m not someone who stays up very late. I’d been contacted from a heap of the players just reaching out. That’s for him as a coach or staff to figure out. I knew well and truly before that day.

Eddie quit in late October after Australia’s poor World Cup. On the way out, in an interview with Peter FitzSimons, he said you, Michael Hooper and Bernard Foley weren’t the right role models for the team. Did that hurt?
To be honest, the thing that got me about that comment was more so that he questioned my want to win. There were a lot of comments throughout the year that put a lot of players under pressure – some things that were said about other teams right before we were about to play them. Some of the things he said to grab headlines – at other people’s expense – I just don’t operate like that.

I had nothing bad to say about Eddie as a person or a man. I didn’t agree with some of the things that were said, especially about myself, Hoops and Foles. My philosophy is to be the best I can be. It’s about building good habits and foundations. That’s a winning mindset. I want guys around me that every day, no matter what … you can rely on them. I want to be reliable. When people want to push the blame on others, that isn’t a winning mindset.

Eddie’s spin on his World Cup selections was that he was building for the future with a young squad. He said he wanted to stick around until 2027. Do you think Australia fielded their best team at the World Cup?
There’s huge irony in that. In terms of the best team, I know all those lads were doing the best they could. It also falls back on some of the coaching selections. It was really quite difficult for a young group. If you take out all the senior players, what are you left with? I think it’s really difficult for a lot of the young guys. I felt for a lot of these young boys and men who were put in this position. There was a lot of media scrutiny and blame on them because they were the ones standing on the field. It was attempting to win a World Cup with very little help.

Did you watch games at the World Cup or stay clear? What about the 40-6 loss to Wales that effectively sent Australia home before the knockout stages?
It’s an interesting question because I don’t watch a hell of a lot of rugby. It’s difficult in Japan to watch the rugby. I watched a few of the games because I wanted to see my teammates do well. I wanted to see Australia do well and there was a lot of hope that because of the way the pool was set up, we had one of the best draws. We just had to get through our pool. I was watching in hope. When you see South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina all going through, and then us not in the picture, it was really difficult to watch.

After the match, Eddie put his head in his hands. His secret interview with Japan was reported hours earlier by this masthead. Could you believe that story was true?
It was interesting because a lot of the Japanese players here said, “Oh, this is quite old”. They all knew about it. They were like, “You guys didn’t know about it?” We were like, “Nah, this is crazy, we’re just hearing about it”. It was only a few weeks earlier that I was in Wallabies camp. Some of the things asked from a commitment standpoint … that raised a lot of questions [in hindsight].

It’s been a wild year for you. Do you still want to play for the Wallabies?
If you’re playing the game, you always want to represent your country. That is the highest honour. That passion will never fade. Those are the things that are out of your control, no matter how much you want to do something. I can control being on the field and playing well. I love playing for my country and it’s been a huge honour. I feel I’m still one of the best players in Australia.

What should Australia do regarding their next head coach?
There’s a lot of great coaches out there. I’m not too sure who is in the running or who wants to take it. I imagine after some of the things that have happened over the last 12 months, it’s going to be interesting to see who throws their hand up and who wants to take on that challenge.

Dan McKellar’s name was thrown out there. From my time with him and [former Wallabies coach] Dave Rennie, he was a phenomenal talent in terms of attention to detail. As a player, that was a huge difference. With Dave and Dan, you went into games with all the answers. It’s like going into a written test with a cheat sheet. That’s why during my time with those guys, and Scott Wisemantel as well, we had a clear plan. We came away with results in that period. Whoever steps in next, from a player’s perspective, all you would ask for is the commitment and that same level of detail that is expected from players. That’s for the powers that be above my pay grade.

Have you reached out to Dave Rennie? Many players privately feel desperately sorry he was sacked in January and didn’t get his chance with the Wallabies at a World Cup.
For sure. I was driving to the gym when I found out [Rennie had been sacked]. I gave him a call. I had a huge level of respect for him as a man and a coach. I caught up with Dave and [Kiwi coach] Wayne Smith about a week ago here. He [Rennie] coaches Kobe here. A great man and I really felt for him that he didn’t get that opportunity.

When things like that happen, you just try and buy into some of the things that are put in front of you. It was a really difficult situation for the players. He has a great rugby IQ. We were so across the detail. It gave you the ultimate confidence. That was one of the things I struggled with in these last six months leading into the World Cup was we didn’t really have a plan. We had some great communication and talking around the game, but when you go into a game with no real plan or structure and no system, that makes it really difficult as a playmaker. Everybody is looking to each other. Are you going to do that? Am I in that ruck? It was quite tough.

Can you elaborate on that? No game plan?
Key individuals around Eddie lacked significant expertise. As players, we tried to buy into what he was preaching, as not doing so would paint us as a detriment. However, common sense was hard to ignore, and it was remarkable that Rugby Australia couldn’t see it. For instance, Jason Ryles, a rugby league prop, served as an attack coach for the Wallabies at a World Cup. How much did he truly know about rugby attack? That encapsulated the situation. Many rugby coaches could have excelled in that role and I really feel for those guys who were overlooked, especially those who have sacrificed so much just to be dismissed for a rugby league prop.

We have a lot of really talented players with great rugby IP, and I certainly enjoyed some of the conversations we had. But at the end of the day, he [Jones] wasn’t receptive to new ideas, which is why I found it hard to believe he questioned myself, Hoops’, and Foles’ desire to win. Winning is based on how well you prepare and the ability to execute the small details. Those details, like the decision to opt for a rugby league prop as your rugby union attack coach, put everything into perspective, in my opinion.

Lastly, would you have a beer with Eddie one day if you bumped into him here?
I’ve got no ill will towards anyone, including past coaches. That’s his decision and what he thought was the best thing to do for him and Australia. I live by that. If I see Eddie again, of course I’ll say hello and have a coffee. I hope his decision to not pick me wasn’t anything personal.

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