Cooper unlikely to feature against ABs

It appears that those looking forward to seeing Quade Copper don the golden Wallaby jersey again will be in for some disappointment as general consensus is that the flyhalf will be overlooked by head coach Dave Rennie as his charges prepare to tackle the All Blacks on Sunday. 

Foxsports.com.au understands that, a month after being recalled to the squad, Cooper is unlikely to feature in the final Bledisloe Cup match, which also doubles as a Rugby Championship fixture. 

 “He keeps everybody on their toes,” Cooper said of Rennie while talking to reporters. 

“When we’re training, the teams are always quite mixed up. You have to look around, to see where Hoops (Michael Hooper) or Marika (Koroibete) is and get some indication from that. 

“But other than that, the boys are just all fighting for spots. 

“Rodds alluded to the competition, throughout the locks, the halves and everywhere across the board. 

“There’s some fantastic players here who have put in a lot of work and a lot of effort to become better players, and they’ve put their hands up for selection.” 

Cooper was also quick to point out that his presence in the squad, to him, was not solely geared towards taking a place in the Test team. 

“That hasn’t been a focus of mine at all, it’s not something that I have come in here thinking ‘I just have to play a Test’,” he said. 

“For me, coming in here has been about learning, and the things I’ve been able to learn and whether I go back to Japan, after this game, whether it’s after the Rugby Championship, I’m not 100% sure just yet, I’ll have a wealth of knowledge in terms of football in terms of things I’ve been able to gain and learn about myself and being back inside this environment. 

“The level of skill, the level of training that we’ve been able to train at, I haven’t had that for four years or something since I was last inside a Wallabies squad. 

“It hasn’t been a focus of mine to come in and just play games. 

“If I can grow as a man, grow as a rugby player, take that back to Japan and pass that knowledge on to other people, well, then that’s a great reward for myself. 

“That’s where my focus is. 

“Anything else outside of that it’s just bonuses along the way in this journey.”