Quade Cooper (Getty Images)
By Jim Morton
Don't tell Australia's regular rugby sevens
game-breaker that bringing Quade Cooper halfway around the world to
watch this weekend's Sydney world series tournament is a waste of time.
Cooper is a controversial omission from the
Thunderbolts' 12-man squad for the inaugural Sydney 7s despite the
Australian Rugby Union insisting his French club, Toulon, release him
for the tournament.
A delayed arrival on Wednesday left the Wallabies
showman with only one training session with his new teammates and coach
Andy Friend with an unenviable decision to make.
Friend chose not to gamble with the sevens novice at
the potential expense of a strong team showing and first-day pool
showdown with good mate and fellow Rio Olympics hopeful Sonny Bill
Williams.
But Cameron Clark, Australia's star attacking
player, denied the whole episode has been a fruitless exercise for the
Thunderbolts.
"I don't think it's a waste of time at all," Clark told AAP.
"He'll take away a lot for being around the group and will be a lot better for it the next time he joins us."
The
centre said this week's learning, training and watching will pay off
when Cooper - slated to play in tournaments in Las Vegas, London and
Paris - does eventually make his world series debut
"To
win a gold medal you have to be a close-knit group," he said. "A lot of
us hadn't even met him before so it was a great opportunity for him to
get around and meet all the guys and start learning about the game and
all our plays and structures.
"When there's only
seven on the field you all have to be moving in sync so it would have
been hard for him after half a training session to be thrown into the
mix this weekend."
Clark has made such an impact
in his short career since signing to the sevens program straight out of
school as an 18-year-old in 2012, that he is in his second year signed
up as an ambassador by tournament sponsors HSBC.
He
believes Cooper's natural talents will also see him also be a sevens
hit, with time to adapt, but has backed regular playmaker James Stannard
to pilot the Thunderbolts this weekend where a semi-final finish should
be considered a success.
A near full-strength
Australia plays Portugal, Canada and New Zealand in their pool matches
on Saturday at sold-out Allianz Stadium.
NZN
Post a Comment