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In one of the more noteworthy Super Rugby offseason storylines, Reds head coach Brad Thorn made the decision to cut fly-half Quade Cooper from his squad.
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The 29-year-old, who has won 70 caps for Australia, has been no stranger to controversy in the past, but it was still a surprising move, with the Reds a team that has seemed in a permanent state of disarray and/or rebuild over the last few years.
As big as the loss of talent is, Thorn clearly doesn’t see Cooper as part of the foundation of what he is trying to build in Queensland and has admitted that he and the Reds will not stand in Cooper’s way if there is interest in the playmaker from abroad.
We look at five potential short-term landing spots for Cooper, before he can reassess his position later in the year and find a new long-term deal.
Clermont Auvergne
The French side have been beset all season by significant injuries at the fly-half position and Cooper would seem to be the perfect medical joker to bring in until the end of the season and help steady the ship.
Admittedly, “steadying the ship” is hardly something that has been synonymous with Cooper throughout his career, but Clermont are ambitious in the way they play and in terms of suiting the style of Cooper, there are only one or two better fits in France than Clermont would seem to offer.
Ulster
The province are currently searching for a fly-half to replace Christian Lealiifano, following the Australian’s move back to Australia and the Brumbies. Lealiifano earned the adulation of the Ravenhill crowd in an impressive short-term deal, where he made his playing comeback from leukaemia and filled the void created by the legal proceedings currently ongoing around Paddy Jackson.
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If Ulster are looking for help following the falling apart of the move for Stephen Donald, Lealiifano could be relied upon to sell Belfast and the team to international teammate Cooper.
Sale Sharks
Sale have made no attempt to hide the fact they are looking for a fly-half and that has been the case since Danny Cipriani left the club to return to Wasps in 2016. Cooper is exactly the kind of the high-profile, ambitious playmaker that Sale have been craving and he would tick multiple boxes for the side from the north-west.
Director of rugby Steve Diamond has also been unafraid to take punts on players with chequered pasts and, for the most part, seems to do a good job of keeping players on the straight and narrow and helping rebuild careers.
Leicester Tigers
It’s unlikely Leicester have the salary cap space to pursue Cooper on a short-term deal until the end of the season, but if injury were to strike, some creative accounting and use of the medical joker system could be a way for them to reinforce their thin fly-half options.
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With George Ford busy with England for the next seven weeks and youngster Tom Hardwick also away with England U20s – albeit recallable if necessary – Leicester’s fly-half depth has been stretched thin, with Joe Ford the only specialist 10 in the squad. Of course, Matt Toomua can also play the position, but the addition of Cooper would allow Tigers to keep their star man at inside centre.
New Zealand
Could a surprise move across the Tasman be on the cards?
The Chiefs have seen Aaron Cruden depart, the Blues have lost Piers Francis and Ihaia West and the Highlanders are preparing for their last season with Lima Sopoaga. Admittedly, there are some fantastically talented youngsters ready to step up, such as Stephen Perofeta and Tiaan Falcon, but if there is an injury or those franchises want to add some more experience to the group, Cooper could go be an effective way to go.
It’s a long shot, but who knows?
