“He’s desperate for an opportunity to prove himself and any team would be silly not to consider him given what he’s achieved. But I do think the onus will be on James, ultimately, to prove that he’s genuine about it and he wants to make an impact.” Wessels told us the Cooper deal was still on but was taking some time to finalise. It is based on a similar principle, with the Rebels to foot a fraction of Cooper’s $650,000 a year national contract. Which begs the question... What salary cap? The Rebels' additions to their Wallaby-rich roster will raise eyebrows in Super Rugby land, especially given Matt Toomua is also expected to link up with the side at the back end of next season. The Rebels already boast Wallabies Marika Koroibete, Reece Hodge, Dane Haylett-Petty, Jack Maddocks, Adam Coleman, Jordan Uelese. Can the Rebels fit their incoming Test veterans under the $5.5m salary cap? We're told it's not a problem, with the club forecast to come in under the cap next year. For the second year in a row.

Has Quade still got it? Michael Cheika was asked on Thursday about Cooper's NRC form and if he would be in Wallabies calculations if he played for the Rebels next season. "Always ... every player is in Australia," Cheika said. "If he gets an opportunity to play 100 per cent we’d be looking at him. "We’ve seen some good things, seen some other things that you’d like improved. The games have been pretty high scoring, so it’s been pretty much focused on attack. Let’s see how they pan out from there." You be the judge as to whether that sounds like an endorsement from Cheika.

Dempsey returns in NRC

Wallabies and Waratahs fans will rejoice in the news abrasive young back-rower Jack Dempsey will make his long-awaited return to play in the National Rugby Championship this weekend. Dempsey is set to be named on the bench for the Sydney Rays for their clash with Brisbane City at Woollahra Oval on Saturday afternoon. It will have been almost 11 months since the 24-year-old tore his hamstring from the bone in the Wallabies vs Barbarians match at Allianz Stadium last October. Dempsey in the Wallabies' match against the Barbarians in October last year. Credit:AAP The complex nature of the injury mean a mooted April return for the Waratahs was pushed out, then hopes faded of a Test return on home soil. All the while, many fans of the Gordon blindside’s hard-edged style were left to wonder what contribution he might have made to the Wallabies back row as the Test team lurched from loss to loss over the past few months.

But a return now appears locked in, with Sydney coach Chris Whitaker to name Dempsey on his bench on Friday morning. All going well, he could use the next five to seven games to make a case for a spring tour berth with Michael Cheika and the Wallabies. Pichot to fly into a few questions

The World Rugby glitterati will descend on Sydney at the end of the month for a historic meeting. It is a chance for Rugby Australia to show off Sydney and the Australian game ahead of a decision on who will host the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup, which will be made in November. On the agenda is the NRC match between the Sydney Rays and Fijian Drua at Concord Oval, dinner with the Governor General at Admiralty House in Kirribilli and lunch with the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her sports minister Stuart Ayres. It will be the first time World Rugby Vice Chairman Agustin Pichot has met his Australian rugby counterparts since news broke of his interesting new business connection with mining magnate and World Series Rugby visionary Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest. Pichot was spruiking his business credentials in the media in England this week, but seems to have missed the potential pitfalls of jumping into bed with one of his southern hemisphere friends' biggest rivals. It will be an interesting few days to say the least. Foley threatens to dunk Cheika

During a Wallabies fan day at Bond University on Sunday there was a dunk tank where kids could throw a ball at a target to try and get their rugby heroes wet. The likes of David Pocock and Tatafu Polota-Nau were more than happy to get involved as well as a number of others. Bernard Foley, who had been dropped to the bench for the game the night before against South Africa, walked past coach Michael Cheika and playfully asked if he could get him in the tank and try his luck. The pair burst out laughing, with Cheika telling Foley as he walked off: "Oh c'mon mate, I gave ya 20 minutes last night. Are you still going on about that?" It's great to see the pair still have a good sense of humour after what would have been a tough call for Cheika to make. Mate against mate in women's grand final It’s a big weekend for women’s rugby in Sydney, with reigning premiers Warringah taking on Sydney University in the club grand final at Woollahra Oval on Saturday. The match will pit two hoodoo-breaking sevens team mates against each other, as well as countless Wallaroos.

Uni’s Emily Chancellor and Ratette Kennedy Cherrington were teammates only last weekend. They were both in Macquarie University’s history-making Uni 7s side that broke University of Queensland’s two-season unbeaten tournament run in the Aon Uni 7s. But this weekend they will take the field as sworn enemies in the second consecutive grand final clash between Warringah and Sydney Uni. Chancellor will be joined by Wallaroos Grace Hamilton and Fi Jones, plus former Australian captain Ash Hewson, in Saturday’s club final, which will be the match before the Sydney Rays and Brisbane City NRC clash. If you thought that was a solid line up, wait for the list of Warringah Wallaroos: Shanice Parker, Crystal Maquire, Cobie-Jane Morgan and Emily Robinson. The match kicks off at 11.30am at Woollahra Oval on Saturday. Ex-Waratah on a mission Former Waratahs centre Tom Carter is taking part in the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival this Sunday to raise money for the Black Dog Institute, which is a "not-for-profit facility for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder".