Former Orange Emus back-rower Cooper Wright reflects on Australian Barbarians selection

Son of Ben, a former NSW Country Cockatoos captain, Wright is forging his own impressive career after playing for the under 19s Australian Barbarians against Australian under 18s schoolboys last weekend.

The former Orange Emus and St Stanislaus College back-rower, who now plays for Tuggeranong Vikings in the ACT, was part of the starting team at No.8.

While the 18s side proved too strong with a 59-5 victory, Wright was extremely grateful for the experience.

"The score didn't reflect the week, it was pretty cool," he said.

"I had heaps of fun meeting the boys from Queensland and Sydney and training with them as well.

"We felt like we were well prepared just things in the game didn't go our way."

For the Barbarians side, preparation involved five training sessions over four days with ice baths, team meetings and group bonding all part of the schedule.

Wright believes an indifferent start to the game simply came down to a short turnaround from training to the playing field.

"The game was alright, it was pretty scrappy at the start," he said.

"When you chuck two new teams together you don't get much training but the 18s had a good flow to their game which I think we struggled to handle.

"There was good physicality in the middle and we were able to put a couple of shots on but 18s just had too good of a flow and structure."

While it wasn't the ideal result for Wright in the representative fixture, the back-rower couldn't have asked for a better club season with the Vikings.

Grand final wins came for him in both colts and second grade and the former Emu has thoroughly enjoyed his time in the new set-up after moving in February.

"It was a pretty big change going from country club to city club, they're a lot more professionally run," he said.

"Here you're representing a brand ... there's a lot more responsibility in representing the club and team.

"There's also a lot of higher profile players associated with the club like Rodney Iona, Ryan Longergan, John Ulugia and Noah Lolesio - it's a pretty different experience.

"The club prides themselves on ensuring their players act professional on and off the field and are known for producing Brumbies and Wallabies, so they're trying to get everyone to fall into that pattern which is good."

With the rugby season now at an end, Wright's attention will mainly go towards his Bachelor of Business studies and working hard towards his goal for next year.

"I'm just aiming to nail down a starting spot in seconds and see if I can get my name out there and end up in an academy," he said.