SYDNEY (Reuters) - Quade Cooper needs to rediscover his enjoyment of the game before he will be considered for a return to test rugby, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said after omitting the mercurial flyhalf from his bumper training squad on Wednesday.
Cheika selected a 38-man squad to prepare for the Rugby Championship opener against New Zealand but even without any players from the ACT Brumbies, who are involved in the Super Rugby playoffs, there was no room for the veteran of 70 tests.
"One of the big things is for him to look like he's enjoying his footie and getting out there and really being a competitor for that 10 jersey," Cheika told reporters at Coogee Oval.
"I don't feel that's been happening and with more options about the 10 shirt, I think that that's the best way to go.
"Sometimes you do these things to get a response and clarify a little bit more why he's not in the team, so he's clear..."
The return of the versatile Kurtley Beale from a stint in England and the form of a few younger players gave him plenty of options as backup to incumbent playmaker Bernard Foley, he added.
Cheika thought Beale, whose season with Wasps was ended by a hamstring injury, would be available for selection for the test against the All Blacks at Sydney's Olympic stadium on Aug. 19.
The squad included 11 uncapped players and there were recalls for locks Rob Simmons and Kane Douglas after they were left out of the June internationals.
Experienced props Pek Cowan and Tetera Faulkner were rewarded for their Super Rugby form with recalls after three years in the test wilderness, helping make up a nine-strong contingent from the axe-threatened Western Force team.
MOVING ON
Number eight Scott Higginbotham's test career would appear to be over after he failed to have the desired impact in June, while Rob Horne, Will Skelton and Scott Fardy will all be released to head to their new teams abroad.
"They've made their decisions to go away, we've obviously talked about renovating the team and that's close to completed," Cheika added.
"Now it's the time to start getting to grips with how we're going to play, having the willpower to stick with it and putting in the sacrifices to get to the top of the tree."
Starting the Rugby Championship with back-to-back tests against the world champions is a tough assignment for a team who lost to Scotland and just scraped a victory over Italy in June.
Not one of Australia's five Super Rugby sides produced a winning record this season and went an embarrassing 0-25 against New Zealand teams.
Cheika, however, thought it was time to "draw a line" under all that.
"Okay, it hasn't been the greatest Super Rugby season of all time but if we keeping looking backwards we're only going to keep getting the same result," he said.
"We've got to preparing for a different outcome."
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
