Straight out of rugby's believe it or not files come suggestions that Quade Cooper is a better tackler than Richie McCaw.
That's the spin Australian media are putting on recent statistics ahead of Saturday night's Bledisloe Cup clash in Dunedin.
Numbers produced by FoxSports, the Australian broadcaster of the Rugby Championship, reveal that Cooper's tackling during the tournament had an 84.4 per cent success rate, better than McCaw's 82.3 per cent.
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie is now using them to instill confidence into Cooper who has a history of struggling against the All Blacks.
FoxSports states that Cooper long regarded as a miss tackler, even to the extent that the Wallabies often shift him to fullback when they do not have the ball to avoid having him in the vulnerable 10 channel close to scrums, lineouts, rucks and mauls.
McKenzie says Cooper's recent improvements had lifted his overall success rate in the test arena to 78 per cent.
The All Blacks meet the Wallabies this Saturday at 6.35pm.
Story by: Filipe Naikaso
Source: stuff.co.nz
