Quade Cooper and Sonny Bill Williams have mad bro-love. Never ones to let legally binding contracts get in the way of their dreams, the two are now being shopped around as a package deal thanks to Cooper’s public vendetta against the Australian Rugby Union. While Sonny Bill was destined for a stint at the Roosters thanks to a handshake deal (a true man of his word), it looks unlikely that the Roosters, or any NRL club for that matter, could fit the two in under the salary cap. Heading over to European rugby seems more likely. In tribute to this friendship no sport shall conquer, we’ve assembled our favourite sporting partnerships.
Dennis Lillie and Jeff Thompson
This fiery twosome were feared the world over because of their penchant for bowling cricket balls really fast at people’s heads. SBW inspires a similar fear because of his penchant for burying his shoulder in opponents’ faces.
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
There have been many great NBA duos. Magic and Kareem, Malone and Stockton, Shaq and Kobe, but it was Pippen and Jordan that were the most destructive, dominating the league for over a decade where they collected the club’s 6 championships. Early in his career, Jordan was the target. Shut him down and you could shut the Bulls down. Pippen’s emergence created the perfect foil and as a result the Bulls 90’s team will go down as one of the best ever.
The Woodies
The Woodies are an Australian Tennis institution. Claiming 61 doubles tournament victories, including 11 Grand Slams, the Woodies are one of the best doubles pairings of all time. But what gets them in this list is the fact that they were so darn nice about it all! Coops and SBW could take a few PR lessons from these two.
Fabulous Freebirds
These guys gave hope to a generation of bogan rednecks. Excess weight, shitty haircuts and limited physical prowess needed to no longer impede a sporting career. Originally formed by Michael “P.S.” Hayes, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy, and Buddy “Jack” Roberts, later adding Jimmy Garvin to the mix, the Freebirds were the first to use Rock ‘n’ Roll music as the entered the ring so they get bonus points for that. Wrestling is all about the theatre of it all, much like SBW and Cooper’s relationship with the media.
The Bash Brothers
Ok, so these guys may be from a fictional movie but given Cooper and SBW’s respective ages, they were no doubt a major influence on the pair’s sporting dream and willingness to play together. Quack, quack, quack.
Should the Cooper and SBW get their way, they’ll need a name, a tag line, and possible a secret handshake. Best of luck boys.
Pictures by Getty Images
