Rugby
Cooper to reveal all
2012-11-21 10:17
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Sydney - Quade Cooper will reveal next week whether or not he remains in rugby union, although the likelihood of the first flyhalf playing the game in the Southern Hemisphere next season remains minimal.
According to
allblacks.com website, Cooper was offered a revised Australian Rugby Union contract, one that
offered match payments only, which would be pending on whether or not he
was selected for the Wallabies, which ordinarily is a contract offered
to new Test players – whereas established stars receive ‘top ups’ from
the national union to supplement their Super Rugby income.
While
Cooper had confirmed with Queensland he would sign a three-year contract
with the Reds, finalising such deals depends on the closing
negotiations with the Australian Rugby Union.
Cooper’s contract
negotiations were never going to be amicable considering he fronted the
ARU to explain a misconduct charge a week earlier, where he was handed a
$60 000 AUD fine (with a third of that suspended), for criticising the
Wallabies, Robbie Deans and the game in Australia in general.
While
Channel Nine in Australia broke news that Cooper was quitting rugby, no
official announcement has been made either by the playmaker or by the
ARU, although arguably his greatest supporter in Reds coach Ewen
McKenzie said he was still hopeful of retaining him for next year’s
Super Rugby campaign.
He said that Queensland Rugby had no comment regarding his future plans.
“You've got to understand that we're not likely to speak to him because he's on leave for a start,” McKenzie said.
“Secondly,
he's in negotiations with the ARU and we're not involved in those
negotiations. The frustration has been that we (Queensland) came to
terms with Quade some time ago, back in June now, and he declared his
intentions to rugby and to us for three years.
“He's given us his
word on that topic. I think I spoke to him maybe seven or eight days
ago and, as far as I was concerned, I've never felt that he was going to
do anything other than play for the Reds. So that's how I approach it
at the moment, until someone informs me otherwise.
The one
definite is that Cooper will not be joining Sonny Bill Williams at the
Sydney City Roosters in the NRL, after the club said they could not
afford the two players until the 2014 season at the earliest.
Cooper
is expected to fight his first professional boxing match as an
undercard for Williams rescheduled fight against South African Francois
Botha.
The Reds first five played 27 Tests guiding the Wallabies
backline, and his winning percentage rates with some of the greats of
Australian rugby.
The Wallabies won 70 percent of their matches with
Cooper playing at ten, equal with Stephen Larkham, and just behind the
most successful winning Australian first five-eighth of all time in
Michael Lynagh, with the side winning 71 percent of their games with ‘Noddy’
playing at first receiver.