Quade Cooper: Unfairly Targetted or Overrated Show Pony

For most players, the World Cup is the pinnacle of rugby and a memory that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

For Australian star Quade Cooper, however, the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand will be short of memories he will like to keep.

Intense pressure and criticism from fans and media in New Zealand—combined with shockingly poor performances for the Wallabies throughout the tournament—have made Cooper's first World Cup an event to forget.

His rivalry with All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, which hit its highest point when Cooper kneed McCaw in the head during the 2011 Tri Nations finale, made Cooper public enemy No. 1 in New Zealand. The general consensus in Australia is that this immense pressure lead to his poor form.

After all, Cooper's performances for his club side, the Queensland Reds, lead them to the Super 15 rugby title. Furthermore, his performance for Australia in the TriNations series were of a quality level, so how could his form dip so sharply at the World Cup?

The answer may be that Cooper, with all his side-stepping brilliance, does not have the quality and mental strength to succeed at the highest level of the game at this stage in his career.

In the games against Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand, he did his reputation a lot of damage. Earlier in the year he told Australian rugby league clubs that he would potentially switch codes for no less than $700,000 per year. But after his poor performances and showcasing how poorly he dealt with all the pressure, NRL clubs have said they have little to no interest in him. And if they did, he would receive less than half of his asking price.

Maybe Quade Cooper should go to rugby league where his style of play is more suitable, or maybe too much pressure was placed by both New Zealand and Australia on a player who, while skilled, is still only 23 years old.