Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie has hinted that veteran playmaker Quade Cooper could make his long-awaited return to the test arena against the All Blacks next weekend.
Rennie gave Cooper a surprise call-up to the Wallabies squad ahead of their Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship campaigns last month after incumbent pivot James O’Connor suffered a groin complaint during Super Rugby Trans-Tasman.
Cooper hasn’t played for the Wallabies since 2017, and the 70-test veteran watched on from the stands as the Wallabies were defeated in successive tests in Auckland earlier this month as the All Blacks locked the Bledisloe Cup away for a 19th straight year.
However, with the two sides set to meet each other for a third and final time this year at Optus Stadium in Perth next Sunday, Cooper could be called on by Rennie as the Wallabies look to overturn their luckless pair of results.
In both tests against the All Blacks, Rennie opted for youngster Noah Lolesio in the No 10 jersey, while the experienced Matt To’omua provided cover off the bench in the first test before starting at No 12 in the second.
Lolesio struggled in both matches as he threw two intercept tries across both games and endured a horror night off the kicking tee in the opening clash of the Bledisloe Cup series.
To’omua didn’t fare much better when handed his starting opportunity in the midfield as he was also guilty of throwing an intercept that led to a try.
That has led to speculation over who will be handed the playmaking reins for the third test in Western Australia, and with Cooper hanging in the wings, the Wallabies have an experienced yet brilliantly creative first-five at their disposal.
Speaking to media on Friday, Rennie said Cooper has stood out so much since coming into the squad that there is now pressure on the coaching staff to select the 33-year-old in next week’s test.
“He’s been fantastic in the group. Can’t speak highly enough of him,” Rennie said of the Hanazono Kintetsu Liners flyhalf.