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Dive suits Adam's mum just fine
Greg Growden in Paris Chief Rugby Correspondent | November 19, 2008
When Adam Ashley-Cooper scored the try that sealed Australia's victory over England on Saturday with an extravagant dive, fans in Australia rejoiced.
Back at his parents' home on the Central Coast his family also cheered and then gave him a score out of 10 for the aerial performance at Twickenham.
His Wallabies teammates were not surprised that he took his life into his hands by leaping madly to score - because, after all, he provided one of the highlights of last year's World Cup when he was filmed doing his Johnny Weissmuller impression during the team's training camp in Spain.
Until the International Rugby Board complained and forced it off the air, the Wallabies players' World Cup website showed graphic footage of Ashley-Cooper leaping off a cliff and performing a perfectly executed dive into the ocean. It was Tarzan-type stuff and it was no wonder some members of the Wallabies team management required the smelling salts after they saw the footage.
Nonetheless, if the chance is there to make wild leaps, Ashley-Cooper will take it.
"I basically can't help myself," he said on Tuesday.
"Even my mother emailed me and said my dives are getting more flamboyant. She has now made scorecards and gave me nine out of 10 for that effort. I was quite impressed with that because as long as I can keep her happy, everything is fine."
There was also enormous relief for Ashley-Cooper that he finished off the Australian attacking movement because, earlier in the match, his fumble led to England's solitary try. He redeemed himself a half-hour later.
"Scoring at Twickenham was just awesome," Ashley-Cooper said. "It was just a classic case of being in the right spot at the right time but significant because it happened at such an important time in the game.
"It should have happened a lot earlier, except that we bummed a few opportunities. Some simple hand work could have easily put us over the paint."
Because of the earlier blemish, the fullback said he was far from content with what occurred against England, but had gained a lot of confidence because of the strong bond that has developed on the tour between himself and his two wingers - Peter Hynes and Drew Mitchell.
"I've still got a lot of work to do," he said. "I'm very happy with the team performance but there are individual areas that I really do need to address.
"But what I am happy with is how the back three are working together. There was a good understanding in Hong Kong [against the All Blacks] and another repeat performance against England.
"I am really feeling comfortable with Drew and Peter outside me, and I think that is because in essence we are all wingers and can share the same load. We have discovered that we can slot into each other's roles very nicely. As we can play wherever we want, there is a lot of freedom out there in the back."
However, consistency remains crucial.
"We're all aware of the French flair and what they can get up to in the back line and we know we will be confronting a completely different side to what we faced earlier in the year in Australia. Twickenham was great but it will mean absolutely nothing if we don't go out there and perform against the French."
Once again, a Tarzan performance is required.
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/n...770454115.html
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