Weird scenes as Quade Cooper makes bizarre return to playing
Australia fly-half Quade Cooper made his return to playing on Saturday after his long term Achilles injury, but it was in circumstances that no one would have expected.
Having only ruptured his Achilles in August against Argentina in the Rugby Championship, this looked like a very swift return for the 35-year-old, and that was because it was. However, his return was basically a loophole that his side, the Hanazono Kintetsu Liners, were exploiting.
Cooper’s side finished the season at the bottom of the Japan Rugby League One Division One, and therefore have a two-leg play-off against Japan Rugby League One Division Two table toppers, the Urayasu D-Rocks, next month. But the only way that Cooper would be eligible to play in those matches was if he played during the regular season.
Therefore, despite not being fully fit yet, the Wallaby played all of about 25 seconds in the 43-26 loss to the Green Rockets Tokatsu on Saturday. Cooper started the match, saw his side knock the kick off on, then was taken off, completing one of the strangest cameos ever seen in rugby.
Take a look:
La vuelta de Quade Cooper, que salió riéndose prácticamente después del kick-off.
Con este puñado de segundos quedó habilitado para jugar la etapa de los play-off para no descender. 🇯🇵 https://t.co/oJptdLEHqE pic.twitter.com/lpUuMi3bBK
— Periodismo Rugby (@Perrugby) April 24, 2023
