Wobblie won’t sidestep ‘reality’

Troubled Reds and Wallabies playmaker Quade Cooper is facing his demons head-on and he has urged the Australian Rugby Union not to sack him as he prepares for a seven-month battle to clear his name against a burglary charge.

Cooper was cleared on Friday to return to Reds training by the ARU, which also ordered the utility back to undergo extensive counselling before he was considered for selection.

“Alcohol seems to be a common denominator in a lot of incidents, not just involving myself. I need to control that side of things and if I do that, it will be a big factor in keeping me on the straight and narrow,” Cooper told the Sunday Mail.

Speculation had previously suggested that Cooper might have his ARU contract torn up following two previous indiscretions, but he implored the governing body not to abandon him. He will be defending the charges.

“I don’t want to let anyone down ever again,” he said.

“I don’t want to get sacked over this.

“With the support the ARU has shown, and once everything is sorted out in the courts, hopefully I’ve still got a job. It’s up to me to work hard and control what I can control.”

His arrest on December 6, for allegedly breaking into a Surfers Paradise property, has rocked Cooper and he says he will never forget the devastation of being detained at Southport watchhouse.

“Words can’t describe what I’ve gone through the past week,” he said.

“It was very scary [in the watchhouse]. It’s something I never want to experience ever again. I was in there by myself. No words can explain what I felt in there. I definitely learnt my lesson then and there.

“I’ve gone through all sorts of emotions. I’ve been embarrassed, upset, angry … a lot has gone through my mind. I can’t really pinpoint one emotion. I’m going from one extreme to another.

“The public have been surprisingly good to me. No one has bagged me, no one is prejudging me. I’ve been going out for dinner. I’m not hiding from anyone.”

While he is adamant he doesn’t have a problem with alcohol, Cooper accepts he must learn how to manage it.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get back on the pitch and play footy,” he said.

“It’s something we’ve addressed. When everything off the pitch is going well it can transfer to your football on the field.

“Alcohol seems to be a common denominator in a lot of incidents, not just involving myself.

“I need to control that side of things and if I do that, it will be a big factor in keeping me on the straight and narrow.”