The Wallabies are drawing on the knowledge of legendary flyhalf Quade Cooper in their efforts to start Les Kiss’ tenure with a bang.
The 80-Test great has been a presence amongst the Australian camp in the final days of build-up to Saturday’s contest against Japan in Osaka.
Watch every second of the Wallabies Tests against Japan live and on demand via Stan Sport.
Cooper is a hero of the region following his stint with Kintetsu Liners, whose home ground is the site of the opening Test of the two-match series between the two teams.
The former Reds and Rebels playmaker joined the club in 2019, guiding them back to the top division of Japanese Rugby.
With conditions stifling at Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Wallabies captain Harry Wilson believes Cooper’s knowledge has been invaluable.
“It was really good to have Quade in. He’s a Wallaby legend and a person a lot of us admired, and a lot of boys’ heroes growing up," Wilson said.
“Just to have him around the group – he came and had lunch with us after which was really nice for everyone to connect with him.
“Even just him talking about the conditions, obviously this is quite different, how hot it is, he said it’s the same for them, they’re not too used to playing in this too.
“Just hearing that from him was cool, and having him around the group was awesome.”
Cooper made headlines during the week as he looks for one final fairytale run at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
He last played for the Wallabies in 2023, dropped from the side before the Rugby World Cup.
The flyhalf returned to Osaka with the Liners but stopped playing at the end of the 2024-25 season, transitioning into a coaching role.
“I’d say he’s definitely physically he’s still capable, [although] I guess for him it's probably if he wants to go back, he's obviously going to start playing again,” Wilson said on Cooper’s ambitions.
“He's an unbelievable talent and his knowledge of rugby is unbelievable so I've got no doubt about the ability to still do it.
“At the moment he's not signed or anything for next year so it's a bit tough but you’d never rule out Quade if he has the desire.”
The Wallabies are desperate to start life under former Reds coach Kiss with victory and are refusing to use the transition as an excuse for poor performance.
“We know we need the win. We want to be a consistently winning team,” Wilson added.
“For us, there's no excuses of a new coach coming in. We've got a lot of continuity in the team and squad. We're very confident.”
The Wallabies have never lost to Japan in their previous match-ups, with October’s 19-15 win the closest the Brave Blossoms have come.
