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Report: Quade Cooper set to miss remainder of England series
By Sam Smith
Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper withdrew at the last minute from Australia’s impressive win over England in the first of their three-match series and a report out of Australia suggests he won’t feature for the remainder of the series.
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Cooper pulled up lame in the final stages of the Wallabies’ warm-up ahead of their match on Saturday night and was replaced in the No 10 jersey by youngster Noah Lolesio, with the experienced James O’Connor coming onto the bench.
Following the match, coach Dave Rennie confirmed that Cooper had injured his calf but the magnitude of the damage was unclear.
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“We’re not sure the extent of that but he couldn’t push off the calf, so we’ll assess and have a clear idea during the week,” he said.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the prognosis is less than ideal, with Cooper certainly out of the second test and likely to miss the third as well.
While the Wallabies will still aim to get their most experienced out-half fit and ready for action in time for the final test of the series in Sydney, the reality is Cooper will likely not feature again for Australia until the Rugby Championship kicks off on August 6, when the Wallabies take on Los Pumas in Argentina.
Cooper played a significant role in Australia’s successful Rugby Championship last season, which saw them finish second on the overall ladder. While Lolesio had been handed starting duties for the opening five matches of the year – against France and New Zealand, Cooper reinstated himself as the first-choice No 10 in the squad after linking up with the team part-way through the campaign and Lolesio was initially left out of the Wallabies for the end-of-year tour, only to get a reprieve when Cooper withdrew himself from the selection.
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On Saturday night, however, Lolesio cut a composed figure at Optus Stadium and helped guide the home team to a 30-28 victory – ending an eight-game losing streak against one of Australia’s traditional rivals.
With Cooper unlikely to feature again throughout the three-match series, Lolesio is likely to hold down his spot in the No 10 jersey.
Cooper isn’t the only player who will be missing from at least the next future, however, with Tom Banks (broken arm) and Allan Alaalatoa (concussion) both sidelined for the second test.
In better news for the Wallabies, prop Taniela Tupou is fit and available for selection and will likely swap straight into the starting line-up for the crock Alaalatoa.
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