Quade Cooper chimed in during the fallout from the Wallabies’ 33-24 loss to the All Blacks at Eden Park – but a flippant jab about former teammate Michael Hooper didn’t land the way he probably expected.
The contest in Auckland was a rollercoaster: New Zealand built a 20-3 lead, Australia fought back to 26-24 and looked dangerous late, but Cam Roigard’s second try in the 75th minute sealed the result and kept the Bledisloe Cup in Kiwi hands.
However, it was a former Wallaby teammate, Michael Hooper’s commentary that caught Cooper’s eye, or rather ear.
Mid-game, Cooper took to X and wrote: “Love him but.. Can someone please turn hoops [sic] mic off”
The post was clearly meant as a cheeky dig at his former teammate’s punditry on Stan Sport, but the reaction on X went in a slightly different direction.
Fans were quick to defend Hooper and, perhaps more tellingly, to nominate Quade Cooper’s good friend Sonny Bill Williams as the bloke they’d sooner mute.
Replies ranged from “I’d rather listen to Hoops read the phone book than hear SBW say ‘yeah the boys’ one more time,” to viewers confessing they mute the TV when Williams pipes up.
Others suggested Cooper’s trademark calm and “zen” persona had slipped, with one remarking that Hooper was “a proper Wallaby great and generally worth listening to.”
“Bad blood with the former captain. Wouldn’t be like you QC!” quipped one account, while another wrote more blunty: “Typical flog comment”.
The overriding theme in the replies was that if any microphone needed muting, it was Sonny Bill Williams’.
Hooper, who retired from all rugby in 2024 after a flirtation with Sevens, has transitioned into punditry and has generally been widely praised for his insights during the broadcast.
Williams, meanwhile, remains a polarising figure behind the microphone, his easy-going style appealing to some and infuriating others.