Quade Santini Cooper (born 5 April 1988) is a professional rugby union player and occasional boxer. Although born in New Zealand, he has represented Australia in rugby at international level. He currently plays for Hanazono Liners in Japan, and is a former player for the Queensland Reds and the Melbourne Rebels in the Super Rugby competition in Australia. His preferred position is fly-half. Early life Quade Santini Cooper was born in Auckland, New Zealand on 5 April 1988. He has three sisters, Shavarn, Georgie, and Pania and two brothers, Reuben and Moses. As a one-year-old Cooper moved to Tokoroa and was raised by his mother and step-father, Ruhia and David Jones. He attended Forest View High School before moving to Brisbane, Australia in 2001, at 13-years-old. In Brisbane, Cooper attended Rochedale State High School and Springwood State High School before being awarded a scholarship to Anglican Church Grammar School, where he excelled for their first XV rugby union team from 2005 till 2006. In the first year of his ascendance, his team tied for the Queensland GPS Premiership with Brisbane State High School in 2005. Cooper played in all the age group rugby union and league sides in Waikato. He toured the United Kingdom as five-eighth or fullback with the Australian Schoolboys in 2005, alongside David Pocock and Lachie Turner. He rejoined the side in 2006, furthering his total caps to nine, which was the then equal schoolboy record. He also forced his way into the Reds' side as a teenager in 2006. Cooper was selected as a replacement against Japan at the National Stadium, Tokyo in November, winning 29–22. Rugby union career 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. The Reds went on to lose the game by eleven points. 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. 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