14 Jul 2021

Cooper denied Australian citizenship ...again

1:25 pm on 14 July 2021

The former Wallabies rugby player Quade Cooper's application for Australian citizenship has been repeatedly knocked back despite playing 70 Tests for the country.

Born in Auckland, Cooper moved to Australia with his family aged 13 and still holds New Zealand citizenship.

The 33-year-old played for the Wallabies between 2008 and 2017, including at two World Cups, but that wasn't enough to satisfy government officials when he applied to become a dual citizen.

"Awkward moment @ausgov refuse your citizenship applications (again)!" Cooper tweeted.

"Wearing the green and gold 70 times apparently is not enough these days."

A screenshot of the response to his application showed he was deemed to have not provided evidence to satisfy special residency requirements which refer to "persons engaging in activities of benefit to Australia" and "persons engaged in particular kinds of work requiring regular travel outside of Australia".

Cooper said he had made previous attempts to gain citizenship while he was still playing for Australia. His last Test was in 2017.

World rugby rules say a player can play for a country if they have lived there for at least three years before selection. Citizenship is not a prerequisite.

After playing for Queensland and Melbourne in Super Rugby, Cooper is currently with Japanese side Kintetsu Liners.

-ABC