Quade Cooper’s on-off transfer to European champions Toulon will be finally secured on Monday, the French Top 14 club said on Friday.
Toulon released a statement saying Cooper would be presented to the media on Monday, two days after Australia face New Zealand in the World Cup final, for which the talented fly-half has not made the match-day 23.
Toulon announced the signing of the 27-year-old to a two-ear deal back in April, only for a report in Australian media in July to claim that Cooper was set to back out of that transfer and pen a four-year contract with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU).
That would have allowed him to represent his country at the Rio Olympics next year when Rugby Sevens makes its debut.
However, the saga has now been ended with Cooper set to pull on the three-time European champions’ red jersey for the first time on Monday.
He will join from Queensland Reds, with whom he split acrimoniously at the end of the last Super Rugby season.
While considered a great talent, Cooper, who has dabbled in professional boxing during the rugby off-season, like good friend and All Black Sonny Bill Williams, has a controversial past.
He was fined 46,000 euros by the ARU in 2012 for describing the atmosphere within the Aussie squad as “toxic”.
In 2009 he was charged by police with burglary, although those were later dropped, while in 2011 he was accused of deliberately kneeing New Zealand legend Richie McCaw in the face.
Cooper, who was born in New Zealand but opted to represent the Wallabies, also has a reputation as being difficult to manage.