Aussies bring back Cooper to face Lions

Controversial fly-half Quade Cooper returned to the Australia squad with coach Robbie Deans naming a large 49-man training group ahead of the Test series against the British and Irish Lions in June and July.

Cooper had looked set to miss the three-Test series after a public row with Deans last year when he described the Wallabies training camp as a “toxic environment”, but the Queensland Reds back patched up his differences and signed a new three-year deal in December. He is joined in the squad by club mates James Horwill and Will Genia, both recovering from injuries, but there is no place for back row forward Radike Samo. Other capped players to miss out are NSW Waratahs winger Lachie Turner and Western Force scrum-half Brett Sheehan, with ACT Brumbies captain Ben Mowen also overlooked. New cross-code convert Israel Folau also misses out but with the Super Rugby season getting under way next month, an Australian Rugby Union official said there would be plenty of chances to win a place before the first Lions Test in Brisbane on June 22.

“It doesn’t guarantee anything,” a spokesperson said in a statement on the union’s website. “If you’re not here it doesn’t mean you’re not a Wallaby this year — it comes down to what you do on the field.”