Monday’s rugby news has a disappointing Sevens result, Cooper hoping to join the team, an embarrassing VISA setback resolved and Thierry Dusatoir retiring.
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Sevens team finish 6th
World champions Fiji have won the season-opening Dubai Sevens with a 28-17 victory over England after earlier beating Australia by seven points in the quarter-finals. Australia’s interim coach Scott Bowen admits his side aren’t where they should be eight months out from the Rio Olympics.
“We had a plan on how we wanted to play the game which worked well but we couldn’t execute at crucial times,” Bowen said. “Being the side they are, Fiji capitalised on that.” In the subsequent plate competition to determine fifth to eighth place, Australia beat Samoa 28-10 in the semi-final but then lost the final to South Africa in sudden death extra-time to finish sixth.
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Cooper tipped to join Rio team
Quade Cooper is being touted as Australia’s secret sevens weapon, with the Wallabies playmaker expected to begin his path to the Rio Olympics by playing in the Sydney tournament. The 27-year-old has reportedly been given clearance by Toulon to play in three sevens lead-up tournaments and then compete in the Rio Games next year, before returning to France.
The ARU were talked down to allowing just three tournaments in preparation, giving Cooper a chance at his Olympic medal dream. Cooper had previously expressed this desire but his on-going contractual saga with Toulon and the ARU put the issue of Rio inclusion on the back burner until a fortnight ago.
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Cubelli finally joins Brumbies
Pumas halfback Tomas Cubelli will link up with the Brumbies as their star recruit one month after originally planned.
Now that Cubelli is finally cleared to join the Brumbies, he will take the place of Nic White, and form a new halves partnership with Matt Toomua, who will be shifted from 12 to five-eighth in 2016. Cubelli has played 45 tests for Argentina and will continue to represent them in Test rugby despite moving to Australia.
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Dusautoir retires from Test rugby
Thierry Dusautoir has said he made his decision to quit international rugby after recent discussions with the new France coach, Guy Novès. “We arrived at the same conclusions,” the 34-year-old captain told L’Equipe. “If I had tried to continue, forcing to do, I would have shown more vanity than anything else.”
He made his test debut nine years ago, against Romania, and is well-known for his World Cup heroics. He made 38 tackles and scored a try in France’s shock win over New Zealand in the 2007 quarter-finals. Four years later, Dusautoir was named man of the match after scoring France’s only try in the final, won 8-7 by New Zealand.
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