Thursday’s rugby news has Cooper still out, Toomua touch-and-go, rugby growing in the US and the English squad named.
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Cooper’s return delayed
Quade Cooper’s comeback from a shoulder injury has been pushed back another week after failing to recover for the Sharks game this weekend. The Reds star will now target next week’s clash with the Western Force, but he will need to prove his fitness by completing the necessary contact work beforehand.
Cooper’s absence will give rookie Jake McIntyre another chance in the starting 10 position, with Will Genia praising the fly-half’s performance already in directing the Reds team. Winger Chris Kuridrani has also come into the side with Lachie Turner ruled out because of concussion.
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Toomua still questionable
While Matt Toomua has been cleared of serious ankle ligament damage, the Brumbies are still sweating on his return to full fitness after the Wallaby playmaker lasted just 25 minutes into his return victory against the Johannesburg Lions 30-20 in South Africa. Coach Stephen Larkham will give Toomua until early next week to prove his fitness to return against the Bulls.
Meanwhile, Scott Sio is close to his return for the Brumbies, and he may play club rugby for the Tuggeranong Vikings on Saturday. Sio hasn’t played since sustaining a knee injury in the Brumbies loss to the Auckland Blues on April 10.
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Crusaders to play in US
A Crusaders team will play a one-off, historic match against Saracens in New Orleans on August 1. The game at the famous 75,000 capacity Superdome stadium will host the inaugural Hemispheres Cup match.
“There is a real appetite for rugby in the US at the moment, so I am sure that the game will be well supported,” Crusaders CEO Hamish Riach said. The US won their first World Sevens Series tournament in London last Sunday, while World Rugby said last week the 2018 sevens World Cup would be held in San Francisco.
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Burgess in England squad
Rugby league convert Sam Burgess and prolific winger Chris Ashton have been given the chance to impress after they were named in Stuart Lancaster’s bulging 50-man Rugby World Cup training squad on Wednesday.
Burgess, 26, was included just six months after switching from rugby league, although he was likely a beneficiary of Manu Tuilagi’s exclusion, after the Test centre was suspended from Test duty. “We are excited to name this extended squad which allows us to look at a wide group of players who have been pushing hard for selection,” Lancaster said
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