Quade Cooper has pulled his head in to improve himself as a man and as a player © Getty Images

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Quade Cooper's desire to be a better role model to his two young rugby-mad brothers has driven his remarkable transformation.

The Wallabies playmaker's Test career hung by a thread 13 months ago, after attacking the national squad environment as "toxic", but he will run out to play England at Twickenham on Saturday as Australia's vice-captain with the full trust and support of previously-upset team-mates.

Cooper was as stunned as anyone by the appointment for the England Test, but he pulled no punches in revealing how he'd worked hard to learn from his mistakes, to be a positive influence, and to fix the areas that were letting him down.

Cooper put his redemption down to growing up, after fearing he might never again play for the Wallabies after his fallout with ex-coach Robbie Deans, and Ewen McKenzie says he has seen a noticeable growth in the player as he focused over the past eight to 10 months on becoming a better team man and helping to build a strong culture.

"I looked at it as how can I be a better player by working on things away from rugby," Cooper said. "I'd always worked hard at training, but there were things I needed to fix up and be better at to be a more complete player. You've got to work as hard as you can in the environment you're involved in. That for me was the driving force: If you can do the right thing, then other things will flow. Those things seem to have paid off."

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Cooper's brothers - Rueben, 14, and Moses, 11 - are his biggest fans, and he spoke about doing his best to show them the right path to succeed.

"They massively look up to me not only as a person but as a rugby player because they love rugby. When you think about how much respect they have for you and how much they look up to everything you are doing in your life, you want to, and need to, set a good example for them ... and do the right things.

"When you turn that into a team environment, your team-mates are like your brothers. When they see you contributing in a positive way, they are more likely to do the right thing and contribute in a positive way."

Cooper also credited the father-like support of McKenzie, who guided him for four successful seasons at Queensland and also pointedly made him Reds captain against the British & Irish Lions in June after he had been overlooked by Deans.

"The thing with coaches when they come in and give you support and confidence, the first thing you do as a person is relay that back to them," Cooper said. "I've had lots of ups and downs, but he's been the guy who has always been there to help, especially in the lower times. He has always offered support and always spoken to me on the level of mutual respect."

Yeah boy. @QuadeCooper VC congratulations:) #blessed

— Digby Ioane (@digbyioane) November 1, 2013

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