Kiwi enemy No 1 Cooper vows to bounce back

Quade Cooper insisted he'd be a better player for the experience of enduring a second straight World Cup horror show as Australia lost 20-6 to New Zealand in the semi-final here on Sunday.

Cooper, who had one of his poorest games in a gold jersey during last weekend's epic 11-9 quarter-final win over holders South Africa, was unable to provide the Wallabies with any get-go from his key play-making role of fly-half. By contrast, opposing stand-off Aaron Cruden, in only his second Test start, benefited from a more solid platform in front of him and admirably filled the boots of first-choice fly-halves Dan Carter and Colin Slade, who both suffered tournament-ending groin injuries.

"It has been a pretty surreal couple of weeks," Cruden said ahead of next Sunday's final against France.

AUCKLAND, AFP