Australian Wallabies sign Quade Cooper to extension
The Australian Wallabies have announced that they have signed superstar fly-half Quade Cooper to a one-year extension. After several weeks of speculation over whether or not Cooper would return to the Australian Rugby Union next season the youngster finally committed to one more season.
Cooper played his way onto the Australian roster with his performance in this year’s Super 15. Once on the squad he quickly established himself as one of the team’s top players. The New Zealand-born Cooper has become the Wallabies main cog on offence, dictating the rate of play with his speed and imagination.
The pressure was on head coach Robbie Deans to lock up Cooper after the club seemed to be making strides early in the Tri Nations tournament. Originally thought to be the tournaments push-overs Australia established themselves as a legitimate threat with a defeat of the favoured South African Springboks in their first tournament Test. The victory was attributed to the speed and youth of the Aussie side, to which Cooper is a main component.
However, being a former Rugby League player, Cooper began to entertain offers from the National Rugby League’s Parramatta Eels. The offers were reported to be nearly double what the ARU was offering and rumours ran rampant that Cooper would be leaving Union Rugby. Nevertheless, Cooper put the speculation to bed on Friday with a one-year contract extension.
Cooper’s commitment to the ARU is likely to have a great deal to do with the upcoming 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, as the youngster is expected to start the tournament.
Cooper said of his new contract, “The offers from Parramatta were very flattering and you’d be silly not to look at them. It is a professional era and you’ve got to look at all your options. But like I’ve said all day I’ve decided to stay with rugby union and that’s where my future is.”
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