Why was Quade Cooper booed when he got on the pitch?

I must admit this whole booing thing against Quade Cooper is getting boring and embarrassing for something he did 2 years ago to McCaw. Its bad enough for Quade to get booed over in NZ but to get the same treatment in Sydney from some Kiwi fans was unbelievable in his own country.

After all Scott Higginbottom gave Ritchie a tickle with his knee last year and I don't recall Canterbury or other Kiwi footy fans booing him when playing for the Rebels.

I will stick my neck out here and say the worst serial offenders for unsporting crowds are usually from Canterbury ( I wonder if it was them in Sydney ? )

For many years Carlos Spencer was given Quade like treatment in Christchurch by boorish Canterbury fans when playing for the Blues.

I still smile on how Carlos got his own back on them.

2004 Blues v Crusaders and only mins remaining in the match and the crusaders need a try to win. Carlos receives a pass behind the Blues try-line ---- he could kick it out but no, throws a long pass and the Blues are down the other end, Carlos receives final pass to score BUT not yet -- rark up the crowd first by walking around the tryline with ball in the air --- then finally the ball goes down !

Fantastic rugby moment !!

Don't think Quade will get that privilege to stick it to the crowd on saturday night but lets hope this anti-Quade Cooper thing comes to a end soon.

You're right, it is tiring and really serves to display the infantile nature of many Kiwi rugby supporters. It is both because his parents committed the cardinal sin of migrating when he was 14 and their mind numbingly hypocritical stand of persecuting anyone who looks sideways at St Richie who has never ever committed one act of foul play in his life. And of course, he is the only person to have played rugby who is guilty of committing indiscretions for which he will rightly face a lifetime of persecution.

Since being one of the many exiled to coventry by Deans, I really feel Cooper has worked hard on his attitude, especially compared to the other amigos, and also his game as evidenced by the hit he put on Rene Ranger in S15. He has a unique skill set but will always be blessed and cursed by his maverick nature a la Carlos Spencer and David Campese. He is the type of player who can mix amazing feats with shocking flaws, and it seems players like that will always be persecuted for their flaws rather than lauded for their gifts. I think the day is coming when Cooper will really show up against the ABs, hopefully in NZ and it will be beautiful to watch. For their part, NZ rugby fans will show their class by hating more and booing louder.

edit: 2003 RWC semi final. The biggest and last game of Carlos' career. What does he do CHOOOOOOKE! His international legacy as Justin Marshall hasn't got a clue where to throw the ball, "where's Carlos, where's Carlos" the guy could play but only a complete moron wouldn't recognise he could go missing.

edit: WHERE'S CARLOS is remembered for having a shocker in the RWC semi just as a young Cooper had a shocker at RWC 201 but Spencer didn't have a whole country baying for his blood and revelling in every mistake he made. He played the worst game of his career, in the biggest game of his career all by himself.

Before he 2011 RWC, Cooper was in great touch and showed up and secured victories against the best teams in the world including the ABs, Boks and French by a record score. Anybody who thinks Cooper couldn't play and excel at elite level, ditto Spencer, is to blinkered to be worh listening thing. The thing with both players is they could be liabilities just as much as assets. Everyone I know was 100 times happier to see where's Carlos picked ahead of Mehrtens cos there was always a chance a brain explosion.

And a whole crowd booing McCaw, I don't think so, just as if Cairns actually did get greeted by train calls, which I expect is just a spectre of your twisted imagination - love to see your evidence, there's no way it was anything more than a small section of the crowd. There would rightfully be an outrage if a whole stadium did that.

And sure Hadlee used to cop it which he deserved. If anyone comes out in an interview saying they hate your whole country and they're a bunch of ******* they have to face the music and there's no way Cooper did anything like the bitter hate filled Hadlee. I think the fact an increasing number of ABs and their coach are calling for the booing to stop says it all. The supporters have become an embarrassment to the team!

Welcome to the world of professional rugby. Require a man to pay top dollar for a ticket so that he can watch some boofhead who is making more in a year than he's likely to make in a decade or two, and the bloke in the seats is likely to think that his rights of free speech extend to saying pretty much anything he wants.

Cooper has great physical gifts; everyone agrees. But his behavioral problems are not at all limited to his past handbags aimed at McCaw. A portion of the rugby world doesn't like the bloke's attitude generally, from going absent on defense to mouthing off to the press, to issues with alcohol that would land most of us in jail, to adventures in boxing and threats to change codes.

When Cooper produces on the field at a level consistent with his reading of his own press clippings, when he has earned the respect of his peers as well as his supporters for his grace under pressure, then the boo-birds will all disappear. Meanwhile, he can take his weekly paycheck down to the bank, and smile if he wishes to.

If we want to see old-fashioned good sportsmanship from the supporters as well as on the field, we'd better sign up for tickets to the Varsity Match.

Mark L.

@Charlie: Great story, and you are right a great rugby moment. Go the Mighty Aucks (and that's form a Waikato supporter, lol.) The Canterbury fans do take themselves pretty seriously, don't they?

Bad blood...and lots of it.

I was watching the S15 a few weeks ago and when McCaw came on, quite a few of the crowd started booing him. This was 2 NZ Teams (Semi-Final, I think) and his own Countrymen booing him on his first game back in a while.

The little respect I had for the AB 'supporters' went down the toilet after that...

I too wonder why us Kiwis boo him so much usually that sort of behaviour is reserved for good players and lets face it Quade is far, far, far away from being considered a good test match player.

I also get a little tired of comparisons with Carlos Spencer. Carlos attempted to tackle Quade runs away. Carlos is polite and conservative in nature, Quade is a loud mouthed idiot. carlos did all he could to help his teams, Quade spits the dummy and stabs his team in the back. Carlos showed his talent nearly every match, Quade shows it once maybe twice a season. Carlos played welll against the top nations, Quade chokes. Carlos earned his possessions, Quade "borrows" them.

Woah slow down there Wozza, Carlos and the AB's did play poorly that one day in that semi, Quade choked through the entire tournament in 2011 was unbelievably bad in games against Ireland and SA then had one of if not the worst games in Australian WC history in the semi.

Also jump down of the high horse about booing. McCaw gets booed every game by Aussies, Hadlee used to get called.......lt rhymes with planker for 5 days straight in the 80's, Chris Cairns used to be greeted by train calls in reference to his sister killed in a train accident in the 90's and Quade gets booed ......suck it up princess.

No Quade didnt say he hated New Zealand he saved that for his own team...and by all reports honest good buggers like Sharpe thought he should never ever be allowed back. But carry on defending the tosser makes it easier for us to beat Aussie as he chokes every time apart from 1 year and that was only two games but hey he won the Tri Nations that NZ and SA had B teams running around in. Then what? Tell me what he has done in 2 years since ? What? Bledisloe? Lions ? Samoa ? Ireland ? Scotland ? Super titles? He has been missing apart from running his mouth off about his team being boring, toxic etc

Funny how you only have a problem with the choking part of the comparisons isn't it all the other parts you agree with i take it ?

Wonder why Hadlee said he hated Aussies after being called a wan.er for 10 years hardly was going to say he loved them was he? 9 for did the talking there...how the Ashes going?

Carry on though with your delusions of his skill levels he might win a game against us one day he might even start ahead of the powerhouse Toomua, might be this week with our fourth string first five in but i doubt it going for twelve years .....you support NSW in league?

People in NZ are past it but its just some people are trying to jump on the bandwagon that has already left.