Ex-Wallabies star Quade Cooper has urged Joe Schmidt to make a significant change to his squad after being unimpressed by their loss to the All Blacks.
South Africa secured the 2025 Rugby Championship victory on Saturday, narrowly beating Argentina in front of a full house at Twickenham, while New Zealand showed their class in their win over Australia.
In arguably the closest run tournament in recent years, the Springboks finished on the same points as the All Blacks, but took the title thanks to their superior points difference. Meanwhile, the greatly improved Wallabies secured third place after finishing just one point above Los Pumas.
It wasn’t long ago that the Wallabies appeared to be going down the route of Wales, out of tier 1 rugby and into the obscurity of being named a ‘former great’. But their resurgence over the past 18 months has been nothing short of fantastic, showing that they’re not only a team on the way up, but a team that were, in fact, challenging for the Rugby Championship title right up until the final round.
Ten options
Although the Wallabies have plenty to celebrate, there’s one area that’s found no security in recent times – the number 10 position.
The Wallabies have tried multiple playmakers since the World Cup, but none appear to have stuck. Noah Lolesio, Carter Gordon, James O’Connor, Bernard Foley, Ben Donaldson, Tane Edmed, Tom Lynagh and even Quade Cooper have donned the shirt since the start of 2023, but none seem to be able to nail down the shirt.
Now fully out of the Wallabies fold, Cooper is happy to share his opinion on the unfolding situation, and he’s not too impressed with the current option, Tane Edmed.
Sharing his thoughts on X, formerly Twitter, the ex-international star said: “For me, is he a good player? Yeah, he’s ok, but is he a test match 10? In my opinion, no. Does that mean he can’t be, in time…
“It wasn’t a brutal swipe at Tane Edmed, I just don’t think he should be playing test match rugby for Australia right now. If he’s the best that we have in the most pivotal position in the game in all of Australia. Tell me one top-tier country he could replace their top 2 10s?”
Union to league – and back
So, who does Cooper suggest takes up the mantle at 10? A player who doesn’t actually play rugby union anymore – Carter Gordon.
“The player we should be targeting to get back is Carter Gordon. With good coaching systems now in place, he would absolutely flourish and using the depth of Ben Donaldson, Tom Lynagh and old head James O’Connor,” he wrote.
Gordon has been spending his time on the Gold Coast for the past year, after switching codes to play for the rugby league side, Titans. Sadly, his time in the NRL has been blighted with injury after suffering a serious spinal fluid leak in pre-season, which caused him to miss a large part of the season.
He has, however, since returned to play, and is reportedly being watched carefully by Rugby Australia ahead of a potential return to union at the end of his league contract.
Note: Since writing this article, Quade Cooper has issued an apology, saying: ” As for Tane. I would like to apologize. I’ve been in that position, I know how tough it is. I don’t ever want to be one of those ex-players who just sit on the sidelines throwing shade. I’d rather offer perspective and encouragement than add to the noise.”
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