Cooper says best yet to come

Quade Cooper remained defiant after the Wallabies 20-6 semi-final loss to New Zealand at Eden Park on Sunday.

The New Zealand-born fly half declared he would come back a better player from his experience at Rugby World Cup 2011 where he has been cast in the role of public enemy No.1 by media and public alike.

"Everyone is trying to get at me personally," Cooper said after the match in a rare display of emotion. "I think I'm definitely going to be better off for it.

"The way everyone came at me from all angles, whether it be media, the crowd, trying to make a big buzz out of it. I got used to it and I think I grew a lot of confidence out of it.

"I'm not in a position to point fingers about that or have a cry about it. It's there, it's going to happen and it has happened. For me it was just about getting on and doing the best that I could for my team and I feel that I did that

"It's been the case throughout the whole tournament from the minute I stepped off the plane, to the minute I'm sure that I get on the plane.

Shaky start

"I'm sure that everybody will have their opinion, their voices, and whatever that be I'm not going to try and make any perception any different. I am who I am. I'm going to play the way that I play and whether you like it or not, that's me."

Cooper had a shaky start to the match, putting the first kick-off out on the full, but gained in confidence and played better as the match progressed.

"The good thing was I didn't let it get to me. That was one minute in an 80 minute game, so there was still a lot of time for us to come back from that.

"We're pretty down about losing a semi-final in a World Cup. For a lot of the boys it was their first World Cup, but I'm sure it won't be their last. Everyone's looking to the future now because we can't get this game back, but we can look forward to what's to come."

Cooper was gracious in defeat, saying the All Blacks deserved their place in the final.

"It was a very tough night. That showed by the intensity and accuracy that they brought to the game. Right across the board they were making it a personal contest between each player and at the end of the day they came out on top."