New Zealand 41-13 Australia
Quade Cooper: I feel that I did well
August 16, 2015
New Zealand 41-13 Australia (Australia only)

Quade Cooper's critics have their knives out for him but the Wallabies playmaker believes he did his job in the Bledisloe Cup mauling in Auckland on Saturday.

All eyes were on Cooper to see how he would respond to coach Michael Cheika's controversial decision to throw him into an Eden Park furnace, where he has flopped twice before. He didn't crumble in a mixed performance, but he did earn a yellow card early in the second half that handed New Zealand the chance to assert their dominance on the game. They did so emphatically, running in two tries while the Wallabies were a man down to set up the 41-13 victory that ensured they retained the Bledisloe Cup for yet another year.

New Zealand's Dan Carter tackles Quade Cooper, New Zealand v Australia, Bledisloe Cup, Eden Park, Auckland, August 15, 2015
Dan Carter tackles Quade Cooper © Getty Images
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Cooper didn't re-enter the fray, replaced by Kurtley Beale, but he said that he was happy with the remainder of his performance.

"I feel that I did well," Cooper said after the match. "I did the job I needed to do in terms of controlling the team around while I was out there. I was disappointed with not being able to stay out there for the whole game but that's the way it's gone."

Cooper was sin-binned for his unintentional high shot on All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith, who had escaped the clutches of the Wallabies' defence and was set to score New Zealand's second try in the 48th minute. Referee Nigel Owens blew for a penalty try and then gave Cooper his marching orders - much to the delight of the parochial All Blacks fans who revelled in each of his mis-steps.

"Aaron Smith, he's a good player, he managed to bust the line and we just needed to make that tackle," Cooper said. "We scrambled back and I got penalised for that."

Asked if he were disappointed not to have returned to the field, Cooper said: "Of course you always hope to go back on but I understood at that stage, I'd been sitting in the bin for 10 minutes, I'd cooled right down."

Cooper said the jeers of the crowd didn't bother him. "It's professional sport. The crowd hasn't got anything to do with it. My mindset had blocked that out. I'm accustomed to training to that now. I expect that."

Australia's Quade Cooper copped boos as he was sent to the sin-bin © Getty Images
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© AAP

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