Australia
Quade Cooper remains on Michael Cheika's Wallabies radar
AAP
November 3, 2015
Phipps: Sky's the limit under Cheika

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika will do everything possible to ensure Toulon-bound playmaker Quade Cooper is not lost to Australian rugby.

Cooper, who will be unveiled to the French media as Toulon's latest signing on Monday, faces an uncertain future in the gold jersey as he has played only 58 Tests - two short of the threshold introduced this year that allowed veterans Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell, who will be Cooper's teammates at Toulon, to make a Wallabies comeback. That cut-off would seemingly put a halt on Cooper's Wallabies career for two years, the length of his deal with the Top 14 powerhouse, but Cheika insisted the former Queensland Reds playmaker still had plenty to offer Australian rugby.

Cheika said he wasn't tempted to pick Cooper after the Rugby World Cup Pool A game against Uruguay to help him reach the 60-Test threshold - and in fact left him as an unused substitute in Australia's quarter-final win over Scotland.

Quade Cooper
© Getty Images/2015 Getty Images

Cheika: A painful game to lose
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"You can't be playing with that type of stuff, that's not what it's designed for," Cheika said when asked if Cooper's Test target had been a factor at the selection table. "But we'll be doing everything we can to keep Quade playing in Australia. I want him to be playing here. He's a great player. He's been outstanding on this trip.

"His attitude and his contribution to the team, off the field, has been outstanding and on the field when he's played and on the training paddock. Even with his own disappointment over not getting selected he's been outstanding and I want players like that involved with the team at all costs."

Cooper conceded the No.10 jersey to Bernard Foley at the World Cup, but Australia have precious little depth in the key playmaking position and Foley is subject of concerns about his workload having signed a flexible playing contract similar to that of Israel Folau which allows him to supplement his wage with mid-year stints in Japanese rugby.

Cheika said he had held discussions with Cooper about what the oft-maligned star wanted from his future but said the contents of their chats would remain private.

© AAP

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