Quade Cooper may have left Queensland rugby as a diminished hero forced to play club rugby. But he returned in style to reclaim his Suncorp Stadium throne in opposition colours yesterday, orchestrating a dominant 32-13 win for the Melbourne Rebels over the Reds, that sees the Victorians go back to the top of the Australian conference.

They talked about the danger of it happening all week, but the Waratahs’ worst nightmares were realised on Friday night in Newcastle, with a 31-29 defeat to the bottom-placed Sunwolves immediately cancelling out the highs of last weekend’s victory over the high-flying Crusaders.