Kane Douglas must have found the experience strange. As his Leinster team finished their training drills at Donnybrook, a squad of players he still calls brothers arrived in the Wallabies’ bus.
The 25-year-old lock finds himself on the outside looking in this week due to the Australian Rugby Union’s stance on not selecting foreign based players. Douglas stuck around to great his former team-mates and their new coach, Michael Cheika.
The pitch and offices at Donnybrook are familiar to Cheika. He spent five years at Leinster and spent the first two years of his tenure working out of a drafty office at the Bective Rangers ground. Leo Cullen played three seasons under Cheika and lingered around Donnybrook to catch up with his old gaffer.
Quade Cooper was true to the words he spoke on Monday morning as he held pads in tackle drills before joining the backline for set plays. The out-half is battling with Waratah’s Bernard Foley for the gold No.10 jersey but insists he is content in helping the squad, and Cheika, in any way they see fit. ‘I’m just happy to be back in and around the squad, being able to contribute to the team… whether it’s holding pads, being out on the field, giving advice to guys.
‘That is my sole focus, that I can come out of this a better person, a better player and a better team mate on the back of a good team.’ Cooper was out of favour with former Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie for the past year but is back in the mix under Cheika. It is interesting to note that the 47-year-old also summoned flanker Nick Schatz from a holiday to Thailand and Kurtley Beale from his latest international exile.
‘Cheika is a man who is very passionate, especially about coaching. He loves coaching and obviously has a lot of history here in Ireland. Coming back here as a national coach is a great challenge for him and he’s someone who is always up for challenges,’ says Cooper. The Queensland Reds man has praised the new boss for bringing an intense, physical edge to training.
Cooper comments, ‘Mental edge is something he talks about a lot… There is no time to take a breath and that is what this team has to build on the back of. Making sure we are a very hard team, the way we are going, the identity of the team, we’re all heading in the same direction.
‘If we continue to do that, continue to follow his guidance, this team will be a lot better for it and each individual in the team will become better players under that guidance. That is what we hope and whenever you come in to represent your country, you want to put your best foot forward and come out a better player and better person and that’s what we’re heading.’
Hat-tip to Word in Sport.
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