International Career
Cooper had already played for the All Blacks in a 'B' international on the tour to Japan in 1987 after some outstanding performances for Hawke's Bay, but he saw Waikato as providing the first division base on which he could further establish his game.
Soon after linking up with the Hamilton Marist club he was in the Waikato squad where he played both at centre and at fullback and became goalkicker.
His solid performances and points scoring efforts for Waikato kept him to the forefront and eventually he was given his chance at international level against Ireland at Athletic Park, Wellington in 1992. His 23 points in his debut test was a record and on the strength of that showing he was chosen for the All Black tour to Australia and South Africa that same year.
He played against the British Lions in New Zealand in 1993 and went to Scotland and England later that year where he became firmly established in the All Black midfield and took over the goalkicking role with great success. However, injury ruled him out of the test against England. He returned to play two tests against France in 1994.
After retirement, he became the CEO of Sports Waikato and in 2005 became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
His elder brother Greg Cooper, a fullback, was an All Black in 1986 and 1992, winning seven caps.
Beside other origins, he and Greg are of Croat origin. Before the one country rule for qualifying came into effect for international rugby, Matthew Cooper took advantage of his dual qualification and represented Croatia in their World Cup qualification campaign, during Frano Botica's reign as Croatian coach.
Read more about this topic: Matthew Cooper (rugby Union)
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