Australia captain James Horwill is backing Quade Cooper to have his "best-ever game" in Sunday's Rugby World Cup semi-final.
Fly-half backed to produce the game of his life in semi-final
Australia captain James Horwill is backing Quade Cooper to have his "best-ever game" in Sunday's Rugby World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.
Fly-half Cooper was born in New Zealand and has been subjected to a barrage of fan abuse during the tournament due to a long-running spat with the All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.
But despite a poor display in last week's quarter-final win over South Africa, Cooper has been backed to deliver the goods on Sunday by his skipper.
"I think he will have the best game he will ever have," said Horwill. "He has just been training well and he is looking forward to it.
"Everyone seems keen to talk about one person, but it is about the group going out there and getting the job done.
Confident
"We understand the magnitude of the game at hand but everybody is pretty relaxed and I think that is a good sign.
"We are confident that we understand what we need to do to get the result."
The Wallabies will be without full-back Kurtley Beale, who has been ruled out with a hamstring strain. As a result, Adam Ashley-Cooper will switch to full-back with Anthony Fainga'a starting at outside centre.
"It is disappointing for Kurtley himself. He worked very hard to do everything that he could to get right," added Horwill.
The winners will meet France, 9-8 winners over Wales on Saturday, in next Sunday's final.
