The cocksure fly-half is never short of an opinion or two, and his spat with New Zealand captain Richie McCaw in 2011 meant he went down even further in many people’s estimation.
Cooper shoved his knee into a prone McCaw’s face during a heated Tri-Nations match, and the incident played into the perception of Cooper as a sly, nasty piece of work.
He’s also openly critcised his country’s coaching staff and last month launched a tirade on Twitter against a supporter who had criticised his performance during the Wallabies’ victory over Argentina in the Rugby Championship. Cooper, who had been sin-binned in the match charmingly wrote “Invite me to you’re next team discussion then ask me how much I give a f— about your team selection? Zero f—s given.”