It is understood that Cooper's statement - which lasted 13 seconds - and refusal to answer journalists' questions, came as a surprise to Australia's management, who would have been hoping for a controversy-free arrival into Auckland following the player's last entrance.
Almost 12 months ago he arrived for the World Cup to a storm following his apparent targeting of Richie McCaw in the just-completed Tri Nations. His actions included a knee to the prone All Blacks' captain's head for which Cooper was cited but cleared.
On the face of it he revelled in his Public Enemy No1 tag, but away from the spotlight he must have wondered whether he was doing the right thing in toughing it out rather than showing a little more humility.
It clearly affected him. His performance in the Wallabies' semifinal loss to the All Blacks was poor - although perhaps not helped by instructions to kick the ball at almost every opportunity - and the roasting from the Eden Park crowd was merciless.
That reception continued during Australia's next game a week later - the narrow victory over Wales for third place - and stopped only when he suffered a serious knee injury. Many in the crowd applauded him from the field, perhaps out of guilt more than anything, as if their name-calling had somehow contributed to his painful downfall.
There is no doubt a more sensible approach for Cooper on his return to New Zealand with Australia would have been to go through the motions at the press call, saying he was looking forward to the challenge, and taken refuge in all the other cliches players employ to survive the part of the job they like the least.
But he's never been one to do the obvious, has Quade, and now the circus is back in town. Welcome back, cobber.
