Quade Cooper calls the shots during a Wallabies training session in London this week. Source: Getty Images
SETTING an example for his two young brothers forced Quade Cooper to "grow up" to become the reformed team man who now holds the Wallabies vice-captaincy.
Cooper revealed that the inspiration for his dramatic turnaround 12 months after his international career appeared in jeopardy lay with his siblings Reuben, 13, and Moses, 11.
In them, he saw the manifestation of his own character beginning to flower.
Having riled the Wallabies dressing room with his "toxic environment" comments, and then being fined $40,000 for it, Cooper had two choices. He could pack his bags and run either overseas or to rugby league, or he could rebuild his rugby career through toil and regain respect through deed.
In his measured drawl, Cooper explained how the process unfolded.
"A big thing for me is having two little brothers, who are massive rugby fans and they look up to me as their hero, so to speak," Cooper said.
"I'm the one setting an example for them, and they've obviously got dreams as well.
"If I can set a better example for them, away from the game and when they see me performing on the field, then it's easier for them to see the right path to take.
"More often than not, when they do step off the right path it's easier to bring them back on.
"That's where I've looked at my life, and how I can contribute to theirs as well as contribute to the team."
Some still feel Cooper is not the right man to wear the Wallabies' No. 10 jersey, believing a few of his past performances in key international games showed him to be flaky under pressure.
But his national coach Ewen McKenzie and teammates, who praise the rehabilitated
Cooper to a man, hold no such fears.
Cooper is now the only five-eighth in any top-five ranked international rugby side to hold a formal leadership title, and this in a field featuring Dan Carter and Morne Steyn.
Who would have believed such a thing exactly one year ago when Cooper was being heavily linked to the Brisbane Broncos and French rugby while negotiations stalled with the ARU.
Cooper has learned that change can only come within.
"You actually have to stop relying on other people to give you a wake-up call, you need to be able to teach yourself when you are drifting off the path to bring yourself back," he said.
"Because if you're always relying on other people, at some point in time there might not be someone around to give you the tap on the shoulder.
"You need to make that tough decision yourself.
"I don't know why or how it happened, but things happen for a reason.
"I look at the last 12 months as a great opportunity for me to improve myself as a rugby player and as a person."
He hopes his friend James O'Connor, now embarking on his own transformation story with a new life in London after having his contract withdrawn by the ARU, can also block the destabilising noise.
"When you stuff up or make an error in your life, there's always people with opinions," Cooper said.
Quade Cooper watches a kick during a Wallabies training session in London this week. Source: Getty Images
"You've got opinions coming from left, right and centre. Sometimes it confuses you more because you don't know which one to take on board, sometimes you try to take everything on board, sometimes it can be a little too much information.
"Sometimes you just need a bit of time to work things out for yourself. James has made the decision to come over here and play, get away from the distractions in Australia, hopefully that is a great decision and something I hope works out."
More so than any light bulb moment for Cooper, there was a gradual awakening to his impact on his brothers, and the acceptance of the discipline required to fulfil a rugby career of mountainous potential.
"There was no point in time where I went, 'Oh, that's what I need to change', you just grow up," Cooper said.
"You get to a point where things aren't going right for you, and why is that? You look at your whole life in general, look at things that are consistently going well for you and some of the things that aren't necessarily being very consistent, and what are the things you can change."
Ask anyone within the Queensland Reds and Wallabies camps, and Cooper has been walking the talk since the start of the year.
And his improvements as a player are becoming more obvious by the week.
What should alarm opponents is Cooper's new-found understanding that the very best athletes are those who consistently overcome adversity and doubt.
Did he lose confidence when McKenzie surprisingly left him on the bench for the first two Tests of his tenure as Wallabies coach, in favour of Matt Toomua?
"Not at all, because you have to respect that he is in a position where he's got to pick a team he feels is going to do the job for that week," Cooper said.
"Credit to Matt for how he had gone about the Super Rugby season, he got first crack at the No. 10 jersey.
"If you look at it from a team view, if you drop your bundle and get all upset about it, imagine the flow-on effect that would have to the 30 other guys in the team.
"So I looked at it as an opportunity where I could have more time to work at my game, be positive around the team, and contribute to the team.
"More often than not, if you do the right thing and work as hard as possible your opportunity will come. And you should be in a position to grab it with two hands and get your spot back, and that's what I will continue to try to do."
01 Nov, 2013
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Source: http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby-gold/wallabies-vicecaptain-quade-cooper-says-setting-an-example-for-his-brothers-forced-him-to-grow-up/story-fndptke0-1226751445397?from=public_rss
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