Australian Rugby
Cooper in limbo after case adjourned
Scrum.com
December 11, 2009
Quade Cooper in action during the Australia team training session at Old Belvedere Rugby Club on November 13, 2009 in Dublin, Ireland.
Empty handed: Quade Cooper's lawyer told the public not to pre-judge him © Getty Images
Enlarge

Quade Cooper said he hoped to continue playing rugby despite having a charge of burglary hanging over his head after his case was adjourned until July 2 next year.

Cooper's lawyer Angelo Venardos said there was "more to this story" and insisted that the Wallabies star hadn't set out with "balaclavas and house-breaking implements" as some might have imagined during his alleged break-in and robbery of a Gold Coast home early on December 6.

Venardos had his request for a committal hearing next year granted at Southport Magistrates Court on Friday morning local time, leaving the immediate future of 21-year-old Cooper up in the air.

It's unclear whether the Australian Rugby Union or Queensland Rugby Union will allow the Wallabies and Reds centre to play up until July's hearing, especially given ARU chief John O'Neill's firm stance on player misbehaviour in the past.

Venardos told reporters outside the court that he hopes "the truth will prevail", indicating Cooper will plead not guilty.

It's thought Cooper was attending the buck's night of Australia team-mate Peter Hynes the night before he was arrested for alleged forcing entrance into and taking computers from the home of two foreign students at around 4am.

"There is a lot more to this story," Mr Venardos said. "It's not as if Quade and someone else has jumped in their car with balaclavas and housebreaking implements and come down the Gold Coast.

"I'd just ask people not to pre-judge the circumstances. It's a watch-this-space situation. There's a lot more to come out yet. He regrets the potential embarrassment that it's caused to his employer, his family and his teammates."

Asked if he wanted to continue playing, a nervous and downtrodden-looking Cooper said: "Definitely. I'd love to play football. That's what I love to do. I hope everything works out for the best."

© Scrum.com

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.