Quade Cooper’s hopes of wearing the Wallabies jersey again could live and die over the next week.
Stunningly brought back from the cold after a four-year absence ahead of the Bledisloe series, Dave Rennie handed Cooper a new tracksuit. He might have been confused at first, mistaking the once-proud yellow Wallabies training wear for an army reserves kit.
Perhaps that rather aptly sums up his career, which has faded with each passing year.
Cooper, as much as he wished was not the case, wasn’t so much brought back to be the front man but be the backup.
With James O’Connor unfit and youngsters across the country unable to be brought in on a whim to their Queensland training base because of Covid, Rennie turned to Cooper, who was back in Brisbane after building his body back up in Japan, to be on standby in New Zealand. He wasn’t used though, with Rennie instead keeping faith in…
