2007–09: Youth level and early international career

Cooper joined the ARU-funded high-performance program with the national talent squad, and signed with the Queensland Reds for the 2007 Super 14 season. At 18-years-old, Cooper made his debut appearance for the Reds in Round 2 of the competition, against the Crusaders at Jade Stadium, Christchurch.^[14] The Reds went on to lose the game by eleven points.^[15] Unfortunately, the franchise finished bottom of the table, having won just two of 13 games. It saw head coach Eddie Jones resign after an 89-point defeat by the Bulls.^[16] It was later unveiled Cooper would be the first five-eighth for one of the two Queensland teams, the East Coast Aces in the inaugural Australian Rugby Championship. The side was guided by former Samoa coach John Boe and Australian lock Garrick Morgan.^[17]

It was reported by The Sunday Mail early 2008 that the New Zealand Rugby Union showed interest and had held preliminary talks with Cooper's management team after he would be off contract at season's end with Queensland. It was understood the Hurricanes were in line for his signature, and including a possible defection to rugby league.^[18] Cooper was involved in a famous upset five-tries-to-one victory over the Bulls. Head coach Phil Mooney made six changes to the side that started against the Stormers the previous week, which earned Cooper's first start of the 2008 season.^[19] Cooper performed a try assist after a chip kick to Morgan Turinui in the 72nd minute, securing their first bonus-point victory in four years.^[20]

Cooper was amongst seven Super 14 players included in the Australian national under-20 side after coach Brian Melrose confirmed the team naming for the inaugural 2008 IRB Junior World Championships in June.^[21] Cooper impressed, coming third in most conversions converted behind Francois Brummer and Trent Renata of New Zealand. Australia had the youngest and heaviest squad in the tournament.^[22] After receiving age-grade honors, Cooper was later selected for Australia in their 2008 end-of-year tour campaign. He made his international test debut against Italy, as a substitute back. Cooper scored a late try to help Australia to a victory over Italy in Padova, with eight minutes remaining.^[23] He made another further two replacement appearances against France and Wales before playing in the historic match against the Barbarian F.C. at Wembley Stadium.^[24] It marked the celebration of Australia winning the rugby gold medal at the 1908 London Olympics. Cooper was involved in a touchline fight between Federico Pucciariello after tussling into the advertising boards and needed to be separated by colleagues and verbally warned by referee Chris White.^[25]

National Rugby League clubs and NZRU officials came up unsuccessful in attempting to sign Cooper in 2009. The New Zealand Rugby Union showed interest in luring him back to New Zealand as they faced a possible loss of New Zealand international first five-eighth Dan Carter.^[26] Cooper instead re-signed with Australia and the Reds. After repeating another near bottom of the table finish, Cooper was one of just four players and the only member of the backline to appear in all thirteen matches during the Reds 2009 Super 14 campaign. He scored four tries, which was second only to Digby Ioane among the team's leading try-scorers.^[27] The season also saw the Reds suffer a historic seventh loss from seven matches away to the Highlanders, and was their 22nd loss in 23 visits to New Zealand since 1999.^[28]

Cooper gained his first test start, playing at second five-eighth, during the final test against Italy in Melbourne during the 2009 June series.^[29] He went on to feature eight times for Australia, starting all four tests on the Grand Slam tour from the second five-eighth position. Cooper stood out on tour and earned praise from former Welsh great Barry John after a victory over Wales at Millennium Stadium.^[30]

2010–12: Super Rugby championship and World Cup

Playing at fly-half in the Wallabies' 1st Tri-Nations Series Test against South Africa, Cooper was yellow-carded during the game for a dangerous tackle on Morne Steyn. ^{[citation needed]} Later he was suspended from two Tests against New Zealand, the Bledisloe Cup clashes in Melbourne and Christchurch. He returned from suspension to face South Africa in Pretoria and Bloemfontein. He featured in the final Tri-Nations clash against the All Blacks in a 22–23 loss at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. Cooper took part in all of the Wallabies' Spring Tour games, playing at flyhalf.

In 2011 Cooper signed with player agent Khoder Nasser.^[31] In 2011, the Queensland Reds won the inaugural Super Rugby title, with Cooper featuring prominently and kicking most of their goals.

Cooper played in all of the Wallabies' Tri-Nations games. When James O'Connor was suspended from the deciding Tri-Nations test at Suncorp Stadium against the All Blacks, Cooper took over the kicking duties in a 25–20 win, securing Australia's only Tri-Nations title since 2001 in the final edition of the competition.

Cooper was selected for the Wallabies for Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand. Starting all games at flyhalf, Cooper was booed by New Zealand crowds because he had earlier used his knee to smash the face of New Zealand captain Richie McCaw. Coach, Robbie Deans, through his experience with the judiciary. had been able to get him off, according to New Zealand media and coach.^[32][33] A fairer assessment is that Cooper was targeted by the New Zealand media and crowds and had a lacklustre series.

Cooper was selected for the third-place playoff at Eden Park against Wales. Cooper set up the opening try before succumbing to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that later ruled him out of the opening rounds of the Reds' title defence in the 2012 Super Rugby season.

In mid-2012, while recovering from the knee injury, Cooper signed a three-year deal to stay with the Reds through to 2015.^[34] Cooper's return from the injury came in Round 13 of the 2012 Super Rugby season against the Lions.^{[citation needed]}

In Round 18, Cooper was yellow-carded and placed on report for a high tackle on former Reds and current Wallabies teammate Berrick Barnes. Cooper was later given a one-week suspension, causing him to miss the elimination-final against the Sharks, which the Reds lost 17–30.^{[citation needed]}

In December 2012, Cooper agreed to a two-year contract extension with the ARU.^[35]

2013–15: International return and going abroad

In 2013, Cooper played in all of the Reds' Super Rugby games. After the sacking of Deans as Wallabies coach and his replacement by former Reds coach Ewen McKenzie, Cooper made his first Wallabies appearance after a long absence in the first test of the 2013 Rugby Championship, coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes in a losing effort against the All Blacks. He featured in the starting 15 at flyhalf for the rest of the Rugby Championship.

In the Wallabies clash with the All Blacks at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on 19 October, Cooper six goals from six attempts, an additional drop goal, made three try-saving tackles and two line-breaks, and set up a try for teammate Adam Ashley-Cooper.

At the end of October, Cooper was named as vice-captain for the Cook Cup test against England.^[36] Under coach Ewen McKenzie he featured in all of the Wallabies' European autumn tour games.^[37]

On 7 March 2014, Cooper broke Elton Flatley's record of 629 points, as well as the all-time Queensland Red's point-scoring record in the Reds' 43–33 win over South Africa's Cheetahs at Suncorp Stadium.

On 5 May 2014, Cooper received his 100th Super Rugby cap for the Reds in a match against the Auckland Blues at Eden Park. On 17 May, he was ruled out for the rest of the Super Rugby season following a shoulder injury against the Melbourne Rebels in round 14. He later underwent shoulder and hip surgery.^[38] After recovering from his injury, Cooper was named in the Wallabies' 32-man squad for the third Bledisloe Cup match against New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium.^[39]

On 21 April 2015, it was rumoured that Cooper had committed to a two-year deal with French Top 14 side Toulon.^[40] In July 2015 it was revealed that Cooper had turned down the deal and re-committed to the ARU in order to be part of the Rio 2016 sevens team.^[41]

On 3 November, Cooper was 'unveiled' to the media as a member of the RC Toulon roster for the 2015–16 season. Cooper apologised to the Toulon fanbase for "extended negotiations" allowing him to be released if called to the Australian Sevens team for the Olympics. Cooper joined former Wallaby teammates Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell, James O'Connor and Sales Ma'afu at the French club. In his debut against Montpellier, Cooper helped set up multiple tries.

2016–18: Sevens stint and dropped from Reds

Cooper joined the Australian 7s squad in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympic Games, commencing with the Sydney leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series. Cooper scored his first try in sevens for Australia on 6 March 2016 in the team's 36–7 win against England.^[42] However, Cooper was later dropped from the squad in May 2016. Cooper claimed he was dropped because he did not hold an Australian passport at the time as citizenship of a country is required to represent that country in an Olympics.^[43]

Cooper returned to the Queensland Reds for the 2017 Super Rugby season after a brief time away playing club rugby for Toulon and Rugby sevens for Australia in 2016. He played twelve of the fifteen 2017 Super Rugby games and scored seventy four points, playing as a first choice fly-half. Cooper was selected for the Wallabies squad for the June tests against Fiji, Scotland and Italy, with Bernard Foley preferred in the starting role. The two wins and upset loss against Scotland would become Cooper's last appearance in a test jersey until 2021 as he was snubbed by Cheika for the 2017 Spring Tour, instead being selected to captain Alan Jones' Barbarians FC side, managing a free-flowing style of football which caught the Wallabies by surprise, the Wallabies would go on to claim a narrow 31–28 victory in Sydney.

In late 2017 it was reported that Cooper was dropped by the Reds before the start of the 2018 season. It was revealed new head coach Brad Thorn told Cooper that "he was the fifth-choice fly-half and was no longer part of his plans" for the franchise and would not be needed at training. It was suggested that Cooper would be playing club rugby for current club Souths.^[44][45] The Reds, under Thorn then signed two of Cooper's 2011 championship teammates flyhalf/fullback Jono Lance and utility back Ben Lucas. Meanwhile, Cooper spent the majority of 2018 playing for Souths, captaining the Queensland Premier Rugby side to a knockout semi-final in August 2018.

In 2018, Cooper and former Reds teammates Karmichael Hunt and James Slipper were named in a 36-man squad selection for NRC side Brisbane City.^[46] The three would go on to be signed with rival Super Rugby franchises for the following season, Cooper at the Rebels would go on to defeat Thorn's Reds twice, as would Hunt with the Waratahs, while Slipper at the Brumbies would lose to the Reds in Brisbane however, win at home in Canberra.

2019–present: Melbourne Rebels and Kintetsu Liners

On 23 October, it was announced that Cooper had signed a one-year contract with the Melbourne Rebels, being sought out by Rebels coach Dave Wessels.^[47][48][49] After a hot start to the season, Rebels had a poorer back end and finished 11th overall, missing out on a finals wild card spot. On a personal front, Cooper's Rebels did manage two wins both home and away over the Queensland Reds coached by Brad Thorn who had "banished" Cooper from his home franchise. Subsequently, Cooper was notably absent from Wallabies squads for the test season with Lealiifano expectedly ahead of him given the Brumbies run to the finals, however Michael Cheika preferred Waratahs Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale as backup options ahead of him as well as Rebels teammate Matt To'omua, who interestingly rarely featured at flyhalf for the Rebels or Leicester. Cheika's Wallabies would go on to bomb out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals after some shaky performances in the pool stages.

He then joined Kintetsu Liners in Japan ahead of the 2019–20 season alongside longtime halves partner Will Genia.^[50] In 2020 Kintetsu and the Rebels would sign a partnership agreement, leaving the door ajar for Cooper to return to Super Rugby with the Rebels.

In 2021, prior to the first test of the Bledisloe Cup, rumours had circled that Cooper would be called into the Wallabies squad a result of Australia's COVID restrictions and lack of form among the Australian flyhalves during the Super Rugby AU and Trans Tasman season. On July 25, it was formally announced that Cooper was named in the squad, alongside former Reds teammate Duncan Paia'aua as newcomers to Dave Rennie's test setup.^[51] In round 4 of the 2021 Rugby Championship, Cooper was selected by Rennie to start at his preferred flyhalf ahead of incumbent Lolesio, who was absent from the matchday 23 altogether. This would be Cooper's first appearance in 1541 days, his last cap being a 15-minute stint off the bench against Italy in Brisbane. Cooper scored 23 out of 28 points, with a perfect 8 from 8 attempts at goal, including a 43m penalty goal at the death to beat the Springboks 28-26.^[52]

Citizenship

In May 2016, Cooper stated that he had been dropped from the Australian Sevens team ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games as he was not an Australian citizen, a requirement set by the International Olympic Committee. He had previously been travelling on a New Zealand passport while playing internationally for Australia.^[64]

In July 2021, Cooper complained that he was still unable to become an Australian citizen despite living in the country since the age of thirteen.^[65] On 14 September 2021, after Cooper had rejoined the Wallabies and helped win a 2021 Rugby Championship match against the Springboks, Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke announced that greater flexibility for residency requirements for citizenship would in future be allowed for the "most highly distinguished prospective Australians" due to their "unique work and travel demands", although he didn't mention Cooper explicitly.^[66] Cooper subsequently passed the Australian citizenship test on 3 December 2021^[67] and was officially granted Australian citizenship on 24 February 2022.^[68]

Club rugby union

More information Club, Year ...

Club	Year	Competition	GP	GS	TRY	CON	PEN	DGL	PTS	WL%
Reds	2006	Autumn international	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	100	0	0
	2007	Super Rugby	11	8	1	0	0	0	5	9.09	0	0
	2008		11	9	1	0	0	0	5	18.18	0	0
	2009		13	13	4	2	1	0	27	23.08	0	0
	2010		13	13	5	31	27	1	171	61.54	1	0
	2011†		18	18	5	31	43	4	228	83.33	1	0
	2012		5	5	0	0	0	0	0	100	0	0
	2013		17	17	3	20	38	1	172	58.82	0	0
	2013	British & Irish Lions tour	1	1	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0
	2014	Super Rugby	12	12	2	22	21	1	120	25	0	0
	2015		5	5	3	6	5	0	42	20	0	0
	2017		12	12	0	25	8	0	74	33.33	0	1
	2018		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	0
Rebels	2019		16	15	3	40	7	0	116	43.75	0	0
East Coast Aces	2007	Australian Rugby Championship	8	3	1	0	0	0	5	25	0	0
Brisbane City	2014†	National Rugby Championship	3	2	0	13	0	0	39	66.67	0	0
	2017		6	6	0	20	0	0	40	66.67	0	0
	2018		7	7	3	21	2	0	63	57.14	1	0
Toulon	2015–16	Top 14	11	8	1	0	0	0	5	72.73	0	0
	2015–16	European Rugby Champions Cup	4	4	1	0	0	0	5	75	0	0
Career			174	158	33	232	148	7	1,119	47.7	3	1

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International rugby union

More information Grouping, Span ...

Grouping	Span	GP	GS	TRY	CON	PEN	DGL	PTS	W	D	L	WL%
Argentina	2012–2016	6	5	0	1	1	0	5	6	0	0	100
England	2009–2016	7	5	2	2	3	0	23	2	0	5	28.57
Fiji	2010–2017	2	1	1	1	0	0	7	2	0	0	100
France	2008–2014	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	66.67
Ireland	2009–2016	6	4	2	3	4	0	28	2	1	3	33.33
Career		24	16	5	7	8	0	63	14	1	9	58.33

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Professional boxing record

More information No., Result ...

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
3	Win	3–0	Jack McInnes	TKO	2 (4), 2:39	3 February 2017	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
2	Win	2–0	Warren Tresidder	TKO	4 (4), 0:34	29 January 2014	Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia	Fought before 2014 Super Rugby season.[72]
1	Win	1–0	Barry Dunnett	KO	1 (4), 2:59	8 February 2013	Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia	Professional debut

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