Wednesday’s Rugby News has the Brumbies denying Cooper a lifeline, SANZAAR denying SA will bail, Nathan Charles talking his European stint, and Hamish Stewart officially out of the u20s squad.
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No lifeline for Cooper
Over the last twenty four hours, it has been hoped that Quade Cooper would be jumping ship and potentially finding a home down in Canberra with the Brumbies.
Joe Powell mentioned it. The media has talked about it.
However, now the Ponies have confirmed that Cooper won’t make the trip down to the nation’s capital, not because they don’t want him, but because Cooper refused.
Dan McKellar reportedly approached Cooper about a month ago to see if he was keen. The Brums squad depth has been tested this year, and Christian Lealiifano will be off-contract at the end of the year, with a re-signing not confirmed.
However, McKellar revealed that after a brief chat, both parties parted ways.
“We won’t be going there. Quade indicated he wants to stay in Queensland try to get back into the Reds,” McKellar explained.
“There will be no further discussions from our end. It was an informal conversation … I’ve known Quade from our links to Souths [in Brisbane] and it was just seeing where he was at.
“He said he was happy with where he was at, [the talks] never developed any further. When a player like Quade is available you have a look because he’s available and he has experience, but we won’t be going down that path.”
Currently, Cooper is being paid $650,000 a year to play for Souths, and Rugby Australia are reportedly keen to get him into another club.
But Cooper is sticking by his beloved state, confirming in a tweet that he was keen to earn a recall the long way round.
Work hard for what you want.. even when it appears there is no way, there is ALWAYS a way.. persist and be patient.. grateful to be representing @SouthsRugby on this journey back to the Reds & Wallabies.. I will not give up pic.twitter.com/pTZ1FlnOWK
— Quade Cooper (@QuadeCooper) May 7, 2018
In other news, Izzy Folau is in hot water again, but I don’t want to talk about it. Here’s the link to the whole hubbub going on there.
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Nozar say SANZAAR
The last twenty four hours has been crazy too on the whole Super Rugby front, with the Northern Hemisphere reporting that three South African teams, the Sharks, Stormers and Lions, are all planning to jump ship and head to the Pro14.
Today, SANZAAR came out and called bullshit, with Chief executive Andy Marinos clarifying that the organisation was going through a “detailed strategic planning process” about what the hell Super Rugby is going to be doing over the next decade.
And, according to him, everything is on the table.
“As part of this process, the member unions have fully committed to the strategy and their future participation,” Marinos said a statement to the Australian.
“Any talk of a change to the stakeholder relationship and partners withdrawing, creation of new teams in new markets and trans-Tasman competitions is unsubstantiated speculation and simply wrong.”
But, this whole scenario does suggest that Super Rugby doesn’t exactly have a clear plan beyond 2020, and that the Saffas leaving may not be totally ruled out.
Rugby Australia have made it no secret that they want a trans-Tasman competition, even though we can’t play rugby for shit and most Kiwis won’t want to touch that idea with a barge pole.
SANZAAR will be set to meet on the whole matter in September in London, and Deputy-chairman of Rugby Australia Brett Robinson will be among the Australian contingent that will be going there.
On top of talk Super Rugby, he’ll also be talking to French and British clubs about the effect that looting players from the Aussie grassroots system is having on the game here.
“We’re trying to see if we can find a way to ease some of the pressure that’s hurting us and now it’s also starting to hurt New Zealand,” Robinson said.
Yeah, but the difference is in New Zealand rugby is a way of life, to the point where you take one player overseas and three more will take their place.
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Lucky Charles
Speaking of European stints, one player that can approve of playing overseas is young gun Nathan Charles, who joined the Rebels squad as injury cover.
But, with Jordan Uelese out, Charles could find himself making his first appearance for the Wallabies in close to four years, and he is keen to jump at the opportunity.
Having played in England with Aviva Premiership club Bath the last two years, Charles is keen to bring his experience to the camp.
“I’ll always put my hand up if I get the opportunity, but I was really upset with the way my last international game finished, with tearing my pec off the bone,” he said to rugby.com.au.
“It’s not the way you envisage as a five-year-old having your last Wallabies game.
“If that opportunity comes around, I’ll definitely put my hand up.
“I still feel like I’ve got the ability to perform at that level, but it’s not something I’ve thought about at all.
“First and foremost, I’ve spent a lot of time away from my wife and I want to get back and see her end just enjoy myself.”
The other contenders at the moment are Reds hooker Brendon Paenga-Amosa and Waratahs hooker Damien Fitzpatrick. However, unlike Charles, both of them have never experienced international footy.
Charles still has plenty of miles on him, being only 29 years old. Add to that his experience with Bath, and the chance of his national selection grows larger.
Previously, Charles had plyed his trade with the Western Force before making the move overseas.
“I do think I’m a better player,” he said.
“I think my knowledge of the game has also improved because I got it from a different perspective.”
“Before I flew back I did contact Joe (scrum coach Joe Barakat) and a few of the guys here about the lineouts and Monday before our first training session, I didn’t want to be rocking in on a short turnaround and having to learn all these new calls from scratch.
“If I can come in with a base of detail, if that’s only going to be better for me and better for the team, then ultimately that’s what it’s all about.”
The Rebels will be travelling up to Canberra to play the Brumbies on Saturday night.
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Part of the Furniture
The Junior Wallabies’ World Championship squad was named yesterday, and there was one glaring omission, a young playmaker by the name of Hamish Stewart.
The young gun has been a regular makeup in the Reds squad all year, and his showing against the Lions a fortnight ago suggests that Thorn and the Reds are keen to keep blooding him for the future.
The Reds however did have some representation in the 28 man squad, with Harry Hockings, Harry Hoopert and Jordan Petaia all selected.
The recent Oceania competition was a real defining moment for the young guns, easily accounting for Fiji and Tonga before going down to New Zealand 28-43. Coach Jason Gilmore confided though that despite the loss, the competition was vital for the team’s progress.
“We took a lot of learnings out of the match against New Zealand and we will be implementing those improvements in our next camp ahead of our departure,” he said to rugby.com.au.
“We have a tough Pool with Wales, Japan and New Zealand who all offer three different styles of Rugby and we will need to be ready for the three challenges.
“The hard work steps up now for this squad after Oceania and the players and staff are looking forward to getting back into camp.”
The Junior Wallabies will be training in Canberra all this month, before off to France for the World Championships, which kicks off on May 31.
Check out the full squad here.
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