PLAYMAKING hot shot Quade Cooper is certain to stay loyal to rugby union for the 2011 World Cup and his blossoming romance with Olympic swimmer Stephanie Rice will keep him in Brisbane.
The Wallaby five-eighth has been comforting Rice from afar since her tearful revelation that she will miss the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October because of a chronic shoulder injury.
Cooper has been in regular contact from South Africa, where he made his return to Test rugby in Pretoria early this morning. There is a strong suggestion the pair will go public with their relationship when he returns from the tour.
He has never been more contented off the field because of his new relationship with the three-time Olympic gold medallist, buying a house in Brisbane for the first time this year and the strong, stable future he sees for the Queensland Reds.
It is also perfect timing for Rice. To have the stuffing knocked out of her Games plans was shattering, so the pick-me-up offered by a boyfriend who understands the pressures and emotional rollercoaster of elite sport has been comforting. Cooper will be back in Brisbane early next month to help Rice through her recovery from arthroscopic surgery that will have her pain-free and firing for next year's world championships and the 2012 London Olympics.
The new off-field balance is one of the underlying factors for Cooper during often heated public debate over a three-year, $1.5 million offer to join NRL club Parramatta.
"My head space is sweet," Cooper said during the week.
When The Sunday Telegraph approached Cooper in Pretoria for a comment about his relationship with Rice, he grinned happily as if the secret was out just.
Rice did something similar a few weeks earlier when she lingered over the line: "He's a nice guy."
Since the pair met through friends around the time of the Australia-South Africa Test in Brisbane in late July, they have been spotted at cafes, a Fortitude Valley restaurant and the movies in Brisbane.
Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie is making no plans for anyone other than Cooper to be filling the Reds' No 10 jersey next year.
"I'm not up on the fine detail, but there has been an upgraded offer [from the Australian Rugby Union]," McKenzie said. "It's a very good deal and I'm confident Quade will make a decision very soon.
"Quade has lots of ambitions in rugby that he wants to build on with the Reds, the Wallabies and with next year's World Cup in New Zealand.
"It's all unfinished business for him and that hasn't changed since we last spoke. There are thousands of ways to get a contract negotiation done and it's all pretty close to his future in rugby being settled."
Cooper is an agreeable soul, which in part explains why he has never hosed down rugby league as an option despite diehard rugby types being irritated that he doesn't even talk up union as the clear No 1 option
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We should have a Humble/ Murray combo
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