Wallabies keen to avoid media circus

Wallabies management has vowed to ensure there isn’t a repeat of the media circus that enveloped Quade Cooper and the team during the ill-fated 2011 tournament in New Zealand.

Assistant coach Stephen Larkham has told Fairfax Media that his discussions with players who took part in that campaign point to the media distraction as one of the biggest issues that faced the squad.

That distraction centred around Cooper and his standing in New Zealand, which proved to be a hostile environment for the former Kiwi, who was declared a public enemy and heckled and booed relentlessly.

It came to be the dominant narrative of the entire Wallabies tournament, while coach Robbie Deans was later criticised for failing to stand up and take some semblance of control, rather than let Cooper take all of the heat.

Larkham, the Wallabies backs coach, has been doing his best to translate his World Cup experience into workable advice for the players but has also been picking the brains of those on deck four years ago.

He said the feedback suggested the media storm was allowed to

become out of control and had an impact on not just Cooper but the focus of other players in the Wallabies camp.

‘‘There’s certain things you can take out of the previous campaign. I’ve spoken to a couple of the boys that were there for that campaign and they thought the media was the biggest distraction for the players,’’ Larkham said.

‘‘I think we will have learned a lot from that and make sure we get those distractions out of the way.’’

There will be heightened media interest in the Wallabies once they land in the UK and Larkham wasn’t suggesting the team was going to pull down the shutters. But he said there had been valuable lessons learned that would be reflected in the approach in 2015.

Former Wallabies hooker Adam Freier looks after media management and Larkham said he had been a valuable addition to Cheika’s staff, given he understands the needs of the players and media organisations.

‘‘He’s very proactive and has played for Australia as well. He knows how the media can impact on the personal space of the player. He’s set out a plan for the World Cup,’’ Larkham said.

Coach Michael Cheika has already dealt with a number of issues surrounding Cooper and been a vocal supporter of the enigmatic five-eighth. He and Cooper fronted up after the expletive-laden tweet in Argentina, while both men were again on the front foot after Cooper’s outing at Eden Park.

It has proven to be the right play on both occasions and Cheika has indicated he wants Cooper to be treated as simply another player in the Wallabies camp, not a special case that needs defending or praising after each and every match.

The other early test for the Wallabies will be prior to the match against England at Twickenham, which shapes as the highest-profile clash of the pool games. They can expect cheeky tabloid snipes and 2000-word essays on the frailties of their setpiece.