Gareth Cooper (born 7 May 1979 in Bridgend) is a former Wales international rugby union player who played in the scrum-half position.
He returned to play in Wales after that tournament with the Celtic Warriors, but he found himself scrapping with the Scarlets Dwayne Peel for the scrum-half jersey during the 2004 Six Nations.
He joined the Newport Gwent Dragons in 2004 when the Celtic Warriors were disbanded, but his form went downhill and Peel secured the scrum-half shirt with some stunning performances during Wales' Grand Slam in the 2005 Six Nations.
He made the Wales squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup but still as third-choice scrum-half and he played just one match as substitute against Japan.
He impressed in two matches against South Africa and kept his place ahead of Peel and the still injured Phillips for the Autumn internationals that year, including a 21–18 win over Australia.