sport, brumbies

Christian Lealiifano will turn his back on overseas offers to keep alive his hopes of playing at the World Cup after deciding to re-sign with the ACT Brumbies for one more season. The Brumbies have finalised details on a contract extension for Lealiifano and the playmaker is set to sign a new deal on Friday. It's a major boost for the Brumbies, who would have been forced to go searching for a world-class flyhalf if Lealiifano decided to end his Super Rugby career. Staying in Canberra instead of being lured abroad will ensure he is still available to play for the Wallabies at the World Cup next year if he can force his way into the squad. Lealiifano made a full-time Brumbies comeback this season after being diagnosed with leukaemia almost exactly two years ago. He played 40 minutes in the last game of the 2017 campaign and then had a playing stint in Ireland at the end of last year. The 30-year-old started to get back to his best just as the Brumbies were bundled out of finals contention, and he's determined to play at least one more year in Australian rugby. His decision to pursue a Wallabies recall will ease a significant headache for Brumbies coach Dan McKellar as he weighs up the balance of his squad for a return-to-the-finals mission next year. Back-rower Ben Hyne is expected to sign a one-year contract as he prepares to make his comeback from a knee injury on Saturday and the Brumbies are upgrading deals for a host of juniors. The Brumbies still need to find a capable replacement for Kyle Godwin at inside centre, while Quade Cooper still remains a recruitment option despite his refusal to leave Brisbane. Cooper is unwanted by the Queensland Reds and was exiled to club rugby this year, but he has one more season left on his Super Rugby and Wallabies contract. The Wallabies have said Cooper needs to play Super Rugby if he wants to be picked in the Test squad, and the Brumbies are the only realistic option in Australian rugby. Lealiifano will continue to work with Wharenui Hawera and Mack Hansen, while McKellar is also working to recruit at least two more inside backs and an X-factor winger. The Brumbies have also been linked to Irae Simone from the NSW Waratahs. Lealiifano is the fourth-most capped player in Brumbies history and will pass George Gregan and George Smith if he plays 10 games next season. But the future of the most-capped player in Brumbies history, Ben Alexander, remains uncertain with the 154-game prop yet to make a decision on whether he will return to Super Rugby next year. Meanwhile, the Wallabies play against an Australian Super Rugby invitational side in a trail match next week in a bid to snap New Zealand's long run of Bledisloe Cup superiority. Michael Cheika's men will play a side featuring the best of the rest not involved in club or Super Rugby finals at Sydney's Leichhardt Oval. It is hoped the trial will put the Wallabies on the front foot in August 18's Bledisloe opener after the All Blacks shot out of the gates in the corresponding game last year. "Spending five weeks on the sideline before a Bledisloe Test match is not what we want ideally," Cheika said. "It's not just about the contact, because you can get all that in training. But just the little things. The pressure in front of a crowd, the referee telling you what to do, the dressing room build up, all those things. The mental side of footy."

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