Cooper gets green light for Reds
February 03 2010
Wallabies back Quade Cooper will play for the Reds in Friday's Super 14 trial match against the Western Force in his first appearance since being arrested on burglary charges in December.
The 21-year-old Cooper was cleared by the Australian Rugby Union on Wednesday to rejoin the Reds after completing the first stage of a counseling and personal development program.
He faces trial after being arrested in early December over the alleged theft of a laptop computer.
"Quade has done everything we have required from him since he agreed to begin the program on December 18 and has earned the privilege to again be considered for selection," ARU high performance manager David Nucifora said.
"However, Quade is also aware that we will closely monitor his performance in the program."
Cooper will play at fly-half on Friday and will likely start in the same position in Queensland's opening Super 14 match against the Waratahs at Brisbane on February 13.
Meanwhile, in a surprise move by Head Coach Ewen McKenzie, Reds captain James Horwill will switch from lock to blindside flanker for this match, with Adam Byrnes partnering Van Humphries in the second row.
As he did for the Wallabies and for Queensland during last season, Ioane will play at outside centre against the Force, with Anthony Faingaa as his inside centre partner and Rod Davies and Luke Morahan on the wings.
Having been cleared to resume playing, Cooper will slot in at fly-half, outside fellow Wallaby and scrum-half Will Genia, who has been named vice captain for the match.
Former Wallaby prop Greg Holmes returns from a rib injury to play at loosehead prop, while young hooker James Hanson gets his first crack at a starting spot.
After running enlarged squads of up to 30 players in previous trials, McKenzie will use the Friday night match against the Force and Saturday's Ballymore game between an Australian Barbarians side and a QAS Reds 2nd XV team to give more game time to those players who have had less than others.
"We're trying some different combinations and we're looking to make sure guys get enough playing time to be match fit," said McKenzie.
"That's why we've looked at these two games as a chance to give players as much game time as we can before we sit down to decide the final combination for the game against NSW.
"The coaching staff will be back from Perth in time to watch the A game at Ballymore on Saturday night, so there's plenty of opportunity there."
The Reds will take a squad of 24 to Perth, with the remaining uninjured players turning out against the Barbarians.
Asked about the decision to move Horwill to the backrow for his first game back after the Wallaby tour, McKenzie was non-committal.
"We're just trying a few things," he said.
"Kevvie (Horwill) is pretty excited about it, so we'll see how it goes."
Reds: 15 Peter Hynes, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Digby Ioane, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Rod Davies, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia (v/c), 8 Ezra Taylor, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 James Horwill (c), 5 Van Humphries, 4 Adam Byrnes, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 James Hanson, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements (from): Ben Daley, Sean Hardman, James Slipper, Robert Simmons, Scott Higginbotham, Richard Kingi, Ben Lucas, Morgan Turinui, Blair Connor.
Date: Friday, February 5
Venue: Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Referee: Stuart Dickinson
Assistant referees: Julian Pritchard, local