Cooper shocks Barbarians by denying call-up for Twickenham
Quade Cooper, the Australia fly-half, will not turn out for the Barbarians in November at Twickenham after denying that he had ever agreed to play for the invitational side.
The Barbarians announced on Monday that Cooper had signed up to play in the fixture at the end of next month, along with South Africa props Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe. Malcolm Marx, Pablo Matera and Duane Vermeulen have also been announced as part of the Barbarians squad, with Australia head coach Dave Rennie poised to lead the side.
Cooper, however, distanced himself from the announcement on social media, saying that at the time the Barbarians face Samoa on Nov 27 he is due to be playing for his club side in Japan. “FYI At no stage have I agreed to play for the @Barbarian_ FC in the up coming [sic] game against Samoa. I’m contracted to the Kintetsu Liners,” Cooper said.
The news comes as a blow for the Barbarians, given Cooper’s resurgence at Test level, with the 34-yearold winning his first Wallabies cap for four years in the Rugby Championship and landing the penalty to beat South Africa. Cooper also starred in Australia’s three subsequent wins, defeating the Springboks again and Argentina twice.
Samoa revealed plans on Monday for a side filled only with Europebased players for the game at Twickenham after the Samoan Rugby Union’s decision to cancel international tours. Michael Alaalatoa, the Samoa captain, and several other players are unlikely to be available to head coach Seilala Mapusua, the former London Irish centre.