Rugby: Cooper cameo in Reds victory

Quade Cooper of the Reds in action against the Lions. Photo / Getty Images

Reds 34
Lions 20

It was the Cooper Comeback but he wasn't quite Quintessential Quade.

The last game Quade Cooper played was in the World Cup play-off for third last year. There'd been suggestions that the major knee reconstruction occasioned by his injury in that match would signal the deconstruction of his game; that he wouldn't be the same unpredictable, high-revving, side-stepping, creative player.

Forget about it. First time back, Cooper looked a little ring-rusty and a little wary of the rough stuff. But the trademark quick hands, quick feet and quick thinking are still there. The cynical would say he didn't have Richie McCaw pinned in a ruck for Cooper to test his troublesome knee fully - but that would be churlish.

It was a quiet start for the Wallaby playmaker. It took nearly six minutes before he got the ball in his hands as the Lions pressed hard early on - and Cooper disappeared to fullback on defence; Ben Lucas swapping over to do defensive duty at 10.

He usually played it safe on attack, too. Mostly it was long passes, cut-out distribution and kicks for position; he did not try to delve too deep into his box of tricks. Part of that was down to the Lions who played well early on, dominating possession and position for a first half characterised by a flat Reds performance, particularly when compared to their bright 37-25 win over the Chiefs last week.

Cooper and the Reds sparked briefly into life about halfway through the half when he figured four times in the multi-phase build-up to flanker Liam Gill's try from a ruck under the posts. Mike Harris kicked the penalties that took the Reds ahead 13-6 at the break and one first half moment hinted at the promise of things to come when Cooper danced a trademark jink round Lions kick chasers - only to throw a typical no-look pass over the sideline when winger Dom Shipperley clearly hadn't tuned his radar to Cooper's frequency.

In fact, the Reds as a whole weren't quite back in sync with their marauding first five in the first half - Harris could have scored under the bar had he held a Cooper pass that put him into a hole.

The first half was deemed enough for Cooper and he repaired to the bench, with Harris moving to 10. The Reds then set about claiming the game through a rather more prosaic method - a pick-and-go and lineout drive saw hooker Saia Faingaa score. Harris inside-balled 18-year-old replacement winger Chris Feauai-Sautia into a gap and he took the return pass from Will Genia to score his first Super Rugby try. Genia scored a 60m runaway try and, at 34-6, that was the end of the contest.

But it was just the beginning of the Reds' re-acquaintance with Cooper, a reunion which could spell danger for opponents as the Reds edge closer to the play-offs.

Reds 34 (L. Gill, S. Faingaa, C. Feauai-Sautia, W. Genia tries; M. Harris 4 cons, 2 pens), Lions 20 (M. Bezuidenhout, J. Kriel tries; E. Jantjes 2 cons, 2 pens). Halftime: 13-6.