Qaude Cooper: Wallabies fly-half finally becomes Australian citizen

Fly-half Quade Cooper has received his Australian citizenship — after having represented the Wallabies 75 times.

New Zealand-born Cooper moved to Australia as a teenager and had five attempts for citizenship rejected over five years.

This was before eligibility rules for «most talented prospective» applicants were tweaked last year.

The 33-year-old, now at Japanese side Kintetsu Liners, has played for Australia at two World Cups.

He was not able to be selected for Australia's rugby sevens team for the 2016 Rio Olympics because he was not a citizen.

Cooper was recalled for international duty in September and played a starring role in the Wallabies' 28-26 win over world champions South Africa.

«Ceremony done and after five years, five attempts, 75 Test matches and a lot of help from the community and many people behind the scenes — I can finally say I'm Australian,» Cooper said on Twitter.external-link