Jonny Wilkinson to Quade Cooper like foie gras to pate

Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal joked that the transition from Jonny Wilkinson to Quade Cooper at fly-half has been like going from foie gras to pate.

Wilkinson – a World Cup winner with England in 2003 – enjoyed great success with the French side, playing a key role in their Heineken Cup triumph in 2012-13 and the title defence in the following season before retiring.

Since signing ahead of the 2015-16 season, Cooper has struggled for consistency, and his faltering campaign continued as Toulon laboured to a 12-9 victory over Bath on Sunday, leaving them second to Wasps in Pool Five.

Asked in an interview with France Televisions how he felt about the change from Wilkinson to Cooper at fly-half, Boudjellal offered a playful response: "It's difficult to go from foie gras to pate.

"For now, Cooper is not what I was hoping for, but we also have to give him time.

"Right now if I say that I'm not happy with our stars, it's only because we expect a lot. It's true that in our imagination, we want to fly across the pitch.

"We've been spoiled somewhat by [Tana] Umaga and then Wilkinson, so maybe we need to give them time."