Hot property Quade Cooper has briefly broken Wallabies camp to meet with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) as he looks to finalise his future.

Cooper and his manager Richard Colreavy met ARU officials, including chief negotiator Peter Friend, on Wednesday afternoon as the odds firmed in favour of the star five-eighth staying with the 15-man game.

The 22-year-old is yet to make a final decision after attracting interest from NRL clubs Parramatta and Newcastle.

Both camps have continued to play hard ball with ARU high-performance manager David Nucifora noting Cooper still remains a mercurial playmaker.

"Quade has had some very good games but he's had some other games that haven't been that good either so you have to weigh that up," Nucifora told Fox Sports.

"There are no blank cheques for players in the game and we weigh this decision up not only in isolation but with all our players."

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans, who earlier this week conceded the contract saga could be a distraction as his players prepared for a two-Test tour to South Africa, said the squad had so far been focused on the task at hand.

"The boys have been working well," Deans said.

"Once we come together and get on with our work it's not really part of that.

"Obviously for those who are interested, there's been lots going on around the periphery."

Deans can hold few fears the soap opera will affect Cooper's form in the Tri-Nations Tests against South Africa in Pretoria on August 28 and Bloemfontein on September 4.

The Australian Super 14 player of the year produced his breakthrough season for Queensland with a possible conviction hanging over his head after a burglary charge.

Cooper continued to star for the Reds as speculation grew about a move to the Western Force.

Revelations he has recently struck up a relationship with swimming glamour girl Stephanie Rice might even help - she won three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics under intense scrutiny of her private life.

Meanwhile, Deans will be unable to finalise his squad for the South Africa Tests until 24 hours before the Australian side flies out on Friday.

Winger Cameron Shepherd has not trained this week with a hamstring problem, while Drew Mitchell's involvement has also been restricted with the same complaint.

Standby winger Pat McCabe and flanker Matt Hodgson have both undergone scans on groin injuries.

"We've just got to get a clear picture on who is available to us because there are a few permutations involved and the we'll make a decision and get on with it," Deans said.

"We could take less (than the maximum 28) and wait for the fog to lift and wait for it to become clear who recovers best and also at that point we'd have a better idea what our need was (after the first match)."

Returning winger Peter Hynes is also a concern to Deans as the Queenslander comes back from a long-term knee injury.

"He is back and training but he's still got a way to go," the coach said.

Hynes, though, is confident he is on track to play his first Test of 2010.

"It feels pretty good," he said.

"I played a (club) game on Saturday and it pulled up pretty well and there was nothing in the game it stopped me doing ... so I'm pretty happy where it is at the moment.

"I got through two hard days of training and I've been rehabbing it for four or five weeks now so it's progressing well."

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