Australia need to settle on a halves combination, and quickly. History instructs that World Cup success is determined by having a settled halves pairing at least two years out. Steve Larkham and George Gregan broke that rule when they combined for the first time only in 1998, the year before steering Australia to a Webb Ellis triumph, but overwhelmingly it holds true.

The Wallabies can’t dither as they did in 2019 when Christian Lealiifano, Matt To’omua and Bernard Foley were rotated through the No.10 jersey right up to the World Cup and even during it. That means Rennie must decide very soon whether Cooper will be part of his team for Paris 2023.

The Wallabies coach has proven himself remarkably dispassionate when it comes to selections. He showed that when he dropped Harry Wilson to the bench and then from the squad entirely, even though Wilson was, arguably, his best player in 2020. Now he prefers Rob Valetini locking the scrum, with Pete Samu offering the versatility of playing at six, seven or eight.

Loading

Cooper, I now believe, can spearhead the Wallabies’ World Cup revival. Even his defence is up to the task. He fell off a couple of front-line tackles against Argentina, but he still slowed them sufficiently for the big men to complete the job. Significantly, the Pumas did not make a single clean line-break for the entire match in Townsville, the first time that has happened since 2013.

The great unknown is whether he can maintain the discipline of playing within himself. Or is Rennie prepared for him to ease his way back to a full repertoire of tricks? Either way, it won’t be easy. But if he can carve out a permanent niche, he could yet realise his destiny of leading the Wallabies to a World Cup final.

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.

Stan Sport is the only place to watch every match of the The Rugby Championship continuing this Saturday with the Wallabies v Argentina followed by the Springboks v All Blacks – both matches streaming live, extended and ad-free on Stan Sport from 4:15pm AEST.