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"I probably didn't ever expect to be in this position, so I'm grateful for the opportunity to be back in this environment," said Cooper, who recently revealed he had been rejected in his application for Australian citizenship.<\/a><\/p>\n "I guess it's one of those things that you continue to work away, try and grow each day and then an opportunity like this has been able to present itself."<\/p>\n The first Bledisloe Cup Test will be held in Auckland on August 7<\/a> with the NZ government set to hand the Wallabies a travel exemption before the trans-Tasman bubble closes.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Quade Cooper gets shock Wallabies recall<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Lions edge out Springboks in gritty first Test<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Wallabies make surprise picks for Bledisloe Cup<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Cooper playing in the first Test is unlikely, with Rennie confirming Noah Lolesio remained the No.1 No.10 with O'Connor sidelined and Matt To'omua and Reece Hodge also in the mix.<\/p>\n The Kintetsu Liners star was looking forward to acting as a mentor for Lolesio – the duo are both Auckland-born – as Cooper shared the learnings from one of the most mercurial rugby careers.<\/p>\n Eden Park has not been a happy hunting ground for Cooper.<\/p>\n He struggled in the 2011 Rugby World Cup semifinal at the venue, where he was NZ's public enemy No.1, before suffering a serious knee injury in the third and fourth playoff at the same ground.<\/p>\n Cooper was also yellow carded at Eden Park in 2015 and had famously had on-<\/p>\n "As a person, as an athlete, through the situations and some of the circumstances that I've have been through, I've had a great opportunity to be able to learn a lot as I've gone," Cooper said.<\/p>\n "Firstly, in able to build my body from the ground up. I had a great opportunity to rebuild my body, refocus and think.<\/p>\n "I don't have any expectation of coming in here to try and be a better player than what I was, it's just about trying to provide now, to try and put my best foot forward and show that, while I'm in here, I can provide a great work ethic and great energy for this group."<\/p>\n After starting the relationship with a coffee date, Rennie said he was enjoying getting to know one of Australia's most misunderstood athletes.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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