Wallabies star Quade Cooper gave an emotional interview following his selection for the Australian national for the first time in four years.
The 33-year-old is due to start at fly-half against the Springboks on the Gold Coast following a four-year hiatus from the national squad since his last Test against Italy in 2017.
The news made headlines around the rugby world and during a press conference Cooper led an honest discussion about his mental state and his life over the past few years.
He discusses a range of topics from his identity issues to his four weeks in the Wallabies training camp and the full press conference is available below:
Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie was questioned over his selection of Cooper, suggesting it was a panic move given Australia’s recent poor form in the Bledisloe Cup.
“Quade’s been really impressive, contributed massively to the group around discussion and his experience has been great,” said Rennie.
“He’s got an arm around some young guys and we couldn’t be happier with him. He’s certainly trained very well. He’s had another good training this morning (Friday) and we expect him to put that on the park on the weekend.
“There’s certainly no panic. We’re basing selections on what we see. Some guys’ selections are based on recent Test matches. For Quade, it’s been training.
“He’s trained really well. He was very close to selection last week and got the nod this week. There’s certainly no panic. We’re trying to grow our game. We think he’s the right man to get us around the park.”
Rennie also praised the kicking ability of Cooper, highlighting its importance when facing the reigning world champions on Sunday.
“You’ve got to be a triple threat. I think it’s an area where James O’Connor is very good and the best 10s in the world are all very strong in that area,” Rennie added.
“As we’ve said, Quade’s skill set will be really important, his experience will be really important, and I know he’s really excited.
“I imagine he’ll be anxious going into the game, first Test in a long time, but we brought him in to give us a bit of cover and to give us a bit of depth, and he’s earned the right to play.”
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