Quade Cooper cemented his position as a Wallabies legend on Sunday after slotting a last minute penalty to down the Springboks on the Gold Coast.
The 33-year-old was recalled to Test rugby for the first time since 2017 by head coach Dave Rennie and kept his nerve in the final play of the match to nail a 45-metre penalty kick and seal a 28-26 win. Full match highlights are available below:
The fly-half didn’t miss a single kick throughout the 80 minutes and Cooper racked up an impressive 23 points to secure a much needed win in the Rugby Championship over the reigning world champions.
With 71 caps to his name Cooper is one of the most experienced fly-halves to represent the Wallabies and this latest performance may have confirmed his place in the Test match squad for the remainder of the competition.
Winger Andrew Kellaway scored Australia’s only try of the match in the first half but it was the consistent boot of Cooper which cancelled out the three tries scored by the Springboks.
"Quade is a big-time player and he stepped up and said 'I've got it' and he nailed it," said Michael Hooper, who equalled George Gregan's record for most Tests as Wallabies captain after leading his side for a 59th time.
This win leaves the Wallabies in third place in The Rugby Championship after three rounds and it is their first win of the competition following a difficult set of results against the All Blacks.
Cooper made his Test debut in 2008 and is regarded as one of the game’s greatest mavericks due to his incredible handling skills and silky footwork which has devastated defences over the past decade.
Here is how the rugby world reacted to Cooper’s heroics on the Gold Coast.
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