Quade Cooper can be a joker on the field, yet play the straight man off it.
The mercurial Wallaby No 10 is never far from the action or headlines and will be a central figure in Sunday's World Cup quarterfinal against South Africa in Wellington.
Australian sports teams are often relaxed at the most intense of times, a secret to their extraordinary success.
The Wallabies lightened the load further yesterday by putting Cooper and his two young amigos, James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale, before the press, with bulky reserve hooker Tatafu Polata-Nau riding shotgun at the top table.
Cooper was the centre of the media attention, as he will be on Sunday when his unique and high-risk game could unlock the Springbok defence or bring his team down. Rugby is all the better for his presence, although he is still honing his work.
Cooper played with a straight bat before the press, having just returned from a challenging training session in the notorious Wellington elements at Porirua Park.
"That's the thing which makes the game so interesting, playing in all sorts of conditions around the world," said Cooper, who found some of his kicks heading in reverse due to the strong wind.
"If this continues we might have to hold on to more ball into the headwind - every time we play in this tournament it tends to rain. But I don't think it's necessary to change much."
The Tokoroa-raised Cooper declared he would not tone his game down despite his blunder rate being a major issue for the Wallabies.
"If we park our ability or confidence it will only help them. We don't want to go into our shell - that doesn't suit us," he said.
Bok coach Peter de Villiers has claimed that giving Cooper too many options is a good way to confuse him.
"Bring it on" was the response of Polata-Nau when asked about the potential for a torrid forward battle, especially if the rain continues. The Wallabies will be named tomorrow.
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