FRESH ON THE heels of a French report that Paul O’Connell’s move to Toulon remains in doubt, RCT president Mourad Boudjellal may have to face losing another of the star players he believed would be joining the club next season.
Toulon expect Quade Cooper to be wearing their 10 shirt next season, but Michael Cheika is not so sure. Source: Colm O’Neill/INPHO
Toulon announced the signing of Queensland Reds out-half Quade Cooper on a two-year deal back in April, but Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has revealed to Fox Sports that he is hopeful the exceptionally skillful playmaker will stay on in Australia after this year’s World Cup.
Cooper’s deal with Toulon was scheduled to begin after the global tournament, according to the French club, but the Reds have repeatedly insisted that the deal for 27-year-old is not as concrete as Boudjellal has stated.
The latest comments from Cheika, who led Leinster to Heineken Cup glory in 2009, suggest that Cooper is very much caught in two minds about fulfilling any agreement with Toulon.
“The way he is investing in what we are doing down there and his input into the program and what is going on, you’d like to think he is staying for quite a while because that’s definitely the feel he has given off,” Cheika told Fox Sports after a recent Wallabies World Cup preparation meeting.
“His commitment and investment in that project, what he’s giving and his involvement there and his eagerness to be involved, but it is still a decision that is up to him and his management. They are taking their time to make the right one and I don’t have a problem with that.
“I’m very keen for him to stay.”