Rugby: Wallabies first five Quade Cooper opens up on rivalry with Richie McCaw - ‘I idolised him’

There was no love lost between Richie McCaw and Quade Cooper. Photo / Getty Images

Wallabies No 10 Quade Cooper says he idolised Richie McCaw growing up - something that ultimately sparked his fierce rivalry with the ex-All Blacks captain.

The New Zealand-born Cooper became Public Enemy No 1 in New Zealand thanks to his infamous feud with McCaw, culminating in a 2011 Bledisloe Cup test where he dug his knee into the back of McCaw’s head.

Speaking on the Bloke in a Bar podcast, the 34-year-old said he taught himself to hate McCaw when he became a Wallaby, despite growing up revering the All Blacks great.

“That’s where all my run-ins with Richie McCaw sort of stem from. I’ve spoken to him since all of the issues and that but I idolised him growing up,” Cooper said.

“To every New Zealander, that was the dude, and you just wanted to meet him. But now I’m playing for Australia.

“In the Australian locker room and stuff like this, everybody is the opposite, they just want to kill him.

“I’m like, ‘he’s my favourite player, him and Dan Carter’. I kind of was like ‘I’ve got to develop this, I’ve got to hate him too’.”

Cooper said the rivalry began for him in the 2010 Bledisloe clash in Hong Kong.

“In the game in Hong Kong, I clean him out and he’s on the ground. I’m sort of standing over him and he just kicks off with his foot to get me off.

“I was like ‘oh, he kicked me’. I sort of said a few words to him. In my head I just wanted to get him back.

“We ended up scoring the try that tied the game in overtime, and he made the tackle on [James] O’Connor as he was of falling over, and I came flying in and I gave him a shove. That’s what kicked that off.

“I gave him a shove and said some words to him and then [Mils] Muliaina, a few other boys came in and pushed me off.

“In my head when I look back, that was just my emotion that I had built up to have some type of motivation against this guy.

“I remember walking off the field and I was so embarrassed and disappointed. I was like ‘how do I go and get a photo with him now’?

“It was a real weird situation.”

Richie McCaw is pushed by Quade Cooper during the 2011 Rugby World Cup semifinal. Photo / Photosport

Cooper, who became an Australian citizen last year, also spoke about finding his identity after leaving New Zealand to play for the Wallabies.

“When I was young, the difference is that now I am Australian,” he said.

“If you get someone who is born in Greece and grown up here, they’re still Greek but they’re [also] Australian.

“That’s the thing with our country, and I guess where the Wallabies are at now - we’re actually really focusing on and appreciating the multiculturalism that we have here in Australia.

“It doesn’t mean you can’t be Samoan or you can’t be Tongan [or that] you’ve got to be one or the other. For me, I’ve sort of got to that same point where I’m like, ‘I love watching the All Blacks’.

“When I watch the All Blacks I’m supporting them. When I play against them, well it’s a game.

“The more that I’ve worked on my own identity and who I am as a man, the easier that’s become because back then I actually didn’t know who I was. I wasn’t sure if I should be on that side.”

Cooper is hoping to recover from an Achilles injury he suffered in the opening match of last year’s Rugby Championship in time for the World Cup in September.

However, after playing a big role for the Wallabies under Dave Rennie, it remains to be seen if he will be a part of new coach Eddie Jones’ World Cup plans after Rennie’s axing.