My future is still uncertain, says Cooper
* Bret Harris
* From: The Australian
* September 07, 2010 12:00AM
WHILE the Wallabies are confident he will stay in the code, star five-eighth Quade Cooper said he is yet to make a decision about his playing future.
Cooper returned to Sydney yesterday with the Wallabies following their two-Test tour of South Africa, which included their first win against the Springboks on the highveld since 1963.
He has to decide whether to accept an improved offer from the ARU or switch to rugby league to play for the Parramatta Eels.
Even though the word inside the Wallabies camp was that Cooper would stay, he was still playing his cards close to his chest.
"I haven't made a decision yet. My future is still uncertain," Cooper said. "I'm still looking at my options. When I can get home and sit down and talk to my family, friends and agent and a few other people, hopefully we can get a decision soon."
Cooper did not want the decision to distract him from the Wallabies' Test against the All Blacks in Sydney on Saturday night.
"It's something that I don't want to let cloud my focus on this week's game," Cooper said.
"If it happens before then, it happens before then. I'm not going to put a timeline on it."
During Cooper's protracted contract renegotiation with the ARU, the national union's chief executive John O'Neill pointed out that he was yet to play against the All Blacks.
The implication was that Cooper's demand for a significant pay increase could not be justified until he had proven himself against the best team in the world.
"Everyone says I haven't played against them, but at the same time I haven't lost against them either," Cooper said. "Hopefully, I can have a win against them and as a team it will be a very big milestone for us. We haven't won in nine games, I think.
"As a team we have set a new goal since South Africa. The first one was winning on the highveld. We have done that and now it will be knocking over the All Blacks."
Cooper, who missed the Tests against the All Blacks in Melbourne and Christchurch because he was suspended for a dangerous tackle, said he could not put a value on playing against the Kiwis.
"I missed two games so I am really looking forward to playing this one," Cooper said. "You can't put an amount on how much I am looking forward to playing them.
"I've sat on the bench so many times. I'm really looking forward to playing them, but at the same time I really look forward to playing any game of footy be it park footy, club footy, Super 14 or international."
Cooper will not be able to measure himself against the world's best five-eighth, Dan Carter, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Instead, Cooper will oppose rookie Aaron Cruden, who will be making his run-on Test debut.
"Aaron Cruden will step in well," Cooper said. "He's a fantastic player. He will fit into that mould very well."
The Wallabies will be looking to take the momentum from their drought-breaking 41-39 win against the Springboks in Bloemfontein last Sunday into the All Blacks Test.
"The game (in Bloemfontein) is something we are very proud of," Cooper said. "We sat down and yarned about it for a while.
"In coming home to our own backyard we have to take on the number one team in the world.
It's a challenge we are looking forward to."
