'I've had a hell of a ride' - Quade Cooper

Quade Cooper has described his fall from grace at the Reds as 'a hell of a ride'.

Quade Cooper had completed precisely three days of the Super Rugby pre-season in late 2017 when he was summoned to a meeting by Queensland management. Just like that, his 118-game career with the Reds had come to an end.

The exciting playmaker at the time was just one year into his lucrative three-year deal that was supposed to take him through the 2019 Rugby World Cup before he was cast aside by new Reds coach Brad Thorne.

How it got to that point remains a matter for conjecture. Was it a judgement call by Brad Thorn about the direction in which he wanted to take the province? Or a broader discussion about where Cooper fit into the national jigsaw?

Either way, one of the highest-profile players in the Australian game spent the entire Super Rugby season playing club rugby.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald Cooper revealed that he never stop working.

"It happened on a Friday and then on Monday, I knew I should be training. What do I do? The first day, I went into a gym and was like 'what do I do?' I've been doing this for more than 12 years but normally your program is handed to you," Cooper says over coffee at a Bulimba cafe, before heading off to plan his move to Melbourne where he joins the Rebels on a one-year deal.

"For me, it wasn't just about the Reds. I was still training to be the best player I could be, whether that was for Super Rugby or (club side) Souths. No matter what, I wasn't going to be stopped from improving myself. If I got back into Team A or Team B, so be it. My focus was on me and how much I was able to learn."

Cooper also discussed how he felt leaving the Reds. 

“Of course, it hurts. I played more than 100 games for them. But I’m not going to judge anyone. That’s up to them and how they feel about that. I’m very fortunate to play for Melbourne now, same with club rugby and the NRC,” Cooper said.

Cooper has stoutly refusing to criticise Thorn aside from a social media post but he did suggest that in his view, the best coaches find a way to combine all of the characters and personalities in their squad, rather than dismiss those that don't fit the precise template.

Sometimes you are forced out of the place you love but thank god there’s more than one place that loves me ❤️ pic.twitter.com/53b5baZnj0

— Quade Cooper (@QuadeCooper) October 22, 2018

“I don’t wish anything bad on anyone. If anything, it says more about coaching styles, to be able to get the best out of every player.

“For me, I don’t have any ill judgment. That’s not me. I can only go with the situation I’m in. For me, that’s Souths, Brisbane City and now Melbourne.”

The playmaker also cites All Black Sonny Bill Williams as a big motivator after his axing in Queensland.

“I went to the Corporate Box [gym] every day, went back into training. And a big help for me has been Sonny. Khoder [Nasser, Williams’ manager] and [trainer] Shannon King, as well. But Sonny, straight away, was ‘come spend a week with me’. I went and spent a week there and we started training. He was on holidays but still was there to do that.

The word 'polarising' goes hand-in-hand with Cooper, although he's never quite understood why he tends to evoke such emotional responses from all sections of the code.

“To be honest, I’ve never been sure,” Cooper says. “What I do know is I’ve had a hell of a ride so far and I feel like I’ve still got so much to give. This year, it’s been a blessing to be a small part of this year for a lot of people.

“A lot of people that didn’t know got to know me. I was able to be a small part of a lot of people’s lives. When you are playing as a professional, people feel you are out of reach. But even if I’m playing Test match football, I’m still down here having a coffee, doing normal things.

“Because I was playing at club level, I was able to interact in a closer way. But I’ve never really known why people are so fascinated by me.”

Following a season of club rugby with Souths and a year in the NRC with Brisbane City, Rebels coach Dave Wessels reached out.

“I was very intrigued by his [Wessels] visions of the game, how he saw the game. And how he took the time to get to know me as a person. That meant a lot. I have a lot of respect for him and am looking forward to playing in Melbourne.

“Anybody who takes the time to get to know you, you know they are investing in you. I have the utmost respect for him.”