Wedneday’s rugby news has Cooper making his debut, the Rebel flankers ready to shine, Mumm talking mind games and the English becoming less English.
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Cooper to make Sevens debut
Australian men’s sevens coach Andy Friend wants Quade Cooper to make his debut at the next World Series event in Las Vegas. This comes after Cooper was granted a release from his French club Toulon – meaning he will miss their match against La Rochelle – to compete in the fourth leg of the World Series.
Friend controversially snubbed Cooper after he made the trip across for the Sydney Sevens, because it was believed the 58-Test veteran was not ready for the physical demands of the abbreviated format. The Australian side went on to almost win this home tournament, beaten after the siren in the final by New Zealand.
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Rebels flankers to fill the void
The flankers for the Melbourne Rebels have put their hands up to replace Liam Gill and possibly David Pocock. Coach Tony McGahan has emphasised that, along with the established talent of Sean McMahon, both Colby Fainga’a and Jordy Reid are able to step up to the next representative level.
“Colby was our player of the year last year and Jordy Reid really hit the scene,” McGahan said. “Both of those guys want to be starting players in our side so we’re really lucky.” Also in the backrow for the Rebels will be All-Blacks star Adam Thompson at number 8 as well as veteran Scott Fuglistaller.
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Tahs downplay mental edge
Dean Mumm does not think that the Waratahs possess a psychological advantage over the Reds, despite their recent dominance in keeping the Reds to less than five points in the last four games. “I think coming into a new year it’s not super relevant,” Mumm said. “History has gone through periods; the Reds have dominated, then the Waratahs and vice versa.”
The Waratahs forward also emphasised that his team-mates have every confidence in the replacements for Bernard Foley at five-eighth. “Kurtley’s been playing there in the trials [and] Bryce Hegarty’s come in as well, so we’ve got a bit of experience on both fronts,” he said.
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Jones downplays Englishness
Eddie Jones has said that the other Six Nations countries still harbour an instinctive “hatred” of England, adding that, while his team will harness that to their advantage, he himself will not bother enforcing the nationalistic traditions of his predecessor Stuart Lancaster.
Jones will leave it to his squad to decide, saying, “I’m not going to use it … it’s not a significant part of our preparation. It’s what we do out on the field during the week that will count. I’m not denigrating what’s been done in the past, it’s whatever the players want to do.”
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