BEFORE AUSTRALIA’S WORLD Cup campaign got underway, Quade Cooper was being touted as a likely star of the tournament and, on his day, the most potent attacking threat in world rugby.
Now, with a pool runners-up spot looking a likely outcome for the Wallabies, the halfback has found himself on the receiving end of some pointed criticism from none other than David Campese, a nearly irreproachable voice in Australian rugby punditry.
Campese, who scored over three hundred points for the national side during his Test career, was, like Cooper, no stranger to controversy, but he thinks the fly-half needs to rein his high-risk passing game in if Australia are to rediscover their Tri-Nations form.
Campese told Fox News Australia:
“On the weekend I was watching, and Cooper got the ball and just wanted to try everything himself. You can’t win a World Cup if you play like individuals, you’ve got to play as a team.Unfortunately the Wallabies on Saturday didn’t look like a team.”
The team’s Kiwi coach, Robbie Deans, didn’t escape without criticism, either.
In addition to stating his suspicion that Deans is “not giving [the team] the right advice,” Campese also described the fact that the coach has two years left to run on his current contract as “unfortunate”.
Australia will aim to get their World Cup campaign back on track against the USA this Friday.
