The All Blacks don't think so and coach Graham Henry expressed after the game his disappointment, saying it was "outside the spirit of the game''. It's a view shared by McCaw's team-mates.
Cooper seems to have made it his personal mission to bait the All Blacks captain and McCaw is flummoxed about why.
"I have absolutely no idea,'' he said."I have absolutely nothing against the guy at all. I never get personal on the field because, if you start doing that, you will make decisions that aren't best for the team.
"There have been a couple of times when we have had a bit of push and shove but, whether he's into that, I don't know. Certainly for me, it doesn't worry me at all.''
McCaw, though, is an easy target and, worryingly, he's had his issues with concussion. Opposition sides know his importance to the All Blacks and look to negate his influence in any way they can at times but McCaw refuses to engage in petty incidents. He has too much class to do that.
It's part of a wider All Blacks policy not to react in a way that puts the team's chances in jeopardy. But it doesn't mean they will merely stand around and watch and they have another team understanding that they look after a team-mate's back.
Lock Brad Thorn was closest to the incident on Saturday night and quickly rushed in to help McCaw out and he's made it part of his brief to help out his captain.
"From my point of view, I'm just looking out for my team-mate,'' he said of his shove on Cooper. "Over the years, there's quite a few guys who have had a go at him so I guess I'm trying to watch his back a little bit.
"Richie just gets on with his game, but there's been a few things happen from Quade. It just adds to all the fun of the test match, I suppose.''
The biggest fun will be if they can beat the Australians and win the World Cup. He who laughs last, and all that.
