After almost a decade in the spotlight it appears as though Quade Cooper will wave goodbye to Australia's domestic rugby scene. The Reds and Wallabies playmaker will reportedly join French powerhouse Toulon on a two-year deal starting after this year's Rugby World Cup.

Cooper's career in Australia has been anything but boring, and repeatedly played out in the public eye. The 27-year-old fly-half has helped keep rugby relevant among the dog-eat-dog Australian sporting market, both on and off the field.

Was he offered the same flexible contract afforded to Bernard Foley? That question now is almost irrelevant with the subsequent Australian Rugby Union announcement that overseas-based stars who have played 60 Tests and seven years in Australia are now available for Wallabies selection; Cooper needs to win seven more caps this year though the Rugby World Cup to remain eligible. But having turned down Toulon twice before, perhaps it's simply time for a change. And looking back on the last eight or so years, it's easy to see why.

A Super 14 debut against the Crusaders in 2007 was quickly followed by a first provincial try; a slick-stepping run against the Lions that would become a hallmark of Cooper's game. It was a move that would also result in a match-winning five-pointer on his Test debut against Italy on the spring tour the following year. And it was around this time when Cooper became a social media phenomenon and the first Australian sports star to record 10,000 tweets.

But it was Ewen McKenzie's arrival at the Reds that took his rugby career to the next level. Cooper learned how to control a game under McKenzie, adding poise to the flick passes, spins, cross-kicks and celebratory backflips that brought the fans back to Suncorp Stadium. It would result in a maiden Super Rugby title 18 months later.

In amongst all that, Cooper began a niggling attack on Richie McCaw; a decision that saw him awarded the dishonour of New Zealand's Public Enemy No.1 at Rugby World Cup 2011. Everywhere he went he was booed. Cooper tried to embrace the hatred but it ultimately ended with an error-strewn effort against the host nation in a ferocious semi-final at Eden Park. The Wallabies were well beaten, and so was Cooper.

Then Wallabies-coach Robbie Deans would later reveal he considered dropping his fallen star for the Bronze Medal match against Wales, and Cooper probably wished he had. Rounding out a horror six weeks in the country of his birth, Cooper suffered a serious knee injury.

He returned for the Reds nine months later and was back in the Wallabies fold under Deans. But it wouldn't be for long. Again sidelined by injury, Cooper told Fox Sports he "wouldn't have played if selected" and spoke of a "toxic culture" within the Australian set-up.

Quade Cooper fell out with Robbie Deans © Getty Images

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Many thought he would never play for the Wallabies again and, under Deans, he never did. The ARU served him with a $60,000 fine, $20,000 of which was suspended, while a contrite Cooper apologised.

When Deans was sacked after the devastating 2-1 series loss to the British & Irish Lions, Cooper landed a national reprieve under trusted mentor McKenzie. A few months later he would bring up his 50th Test cap as, incredibly, vice-captain; it was quite the comeback.

Injuries have limited his playing time ever since while he has also attempted to combine boxing with rugby; a wish denied by the Reds at the start of 2015.

So what's to be made of Cooper's contribution to Australian rugby? Will he leave the game in a better position than when he found it?

He's certainly had more ups and downs than a Hollywood starlet, but he has picked himself up from the canvas each and every time. From high-profile girlfriends, the Bungy Bros, a move to Khoder Nasser's clan, FIFA battles with Twitter fans, flirtations with rugby league, and a few more run-ins with McCaw; barely a week has passed without a Quade Cooper story.

He seems the perfect fit for the whacky world of Toulon, where he will join fellow Australians Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell, as well as All Blacks centre Ma'a Nonu, among a host of other international superstars. But you get the feeling there may just be a couple of twists and turns to come before he departs.

The first challenge will be to overcome a shoulder surgery and then convince Wallabies coach Michael Cheika he deserves a place on the plane to England. Are we set for the ultimate World Cup redemption story? Now that would be classically Cooper.

Quade Cooper looks certain to join Toulon at the end of the year © Getty Images

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