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All Blacks ready to unleash the 'Ferrari' against Los Pumas
By Ned Lester
Super Rugby Pacific went without one of its biggest stars in 2024 thanks to a shoulder injury that required surgery, but Will Jordan is now back and ready to wreak more havoc in the international arena.
Affectionately likened to a Ferrari by teammate Damian McKenzie, the All Blacks star got some NPC pre-season minutes under his belt last week and while the jump to Test level is a mighty one for someone with so little game time over the past eight months, Will Jordan is not the average athlete.
The 26-year-old was backed to "come out and play test match footy straight away" by All Blacks assistant coach Scott Hansen last week, but whether that means he is ready for a run in the starting unit or off the bench is a question that will only be answered when the team is named publicly on Thursday.
Whenever Jordan enters the contest, it's likely he will appear at fullback, as head coach Scott Robertson confirmed last week that is seen as his primary position. Having played predominantly wing so far in his All Blacks career, the shift to the backfield is an eagerly anticipated one.
Having drawn the largest crowd Christchurch Rugby Club has seen in a decade last week, Jordan appears to be primed for his first All Blacks outing under his former Crusaders coach.
"He's looking great, Will," Damian McKenzie grinned when speaking to media in Wellington on Tuesday.
"He's like the Ferarri, bring him out of the garage at the right time and he's ready to go.
"It was great to see him play some NPC over the weekend with Tasman. It's great to have him back out there running, it's obviously been a long time coming since the World Cup so we're excited to have him back."
Jordan has plenty of competition for the 15 jersey, with the impressive form of Beauden Barrett inspiring calls for a promotion to the starting unit - calls that were answered in the recent test against Fiji in San Diego - while dynamic rookie Ruben Love searches for his first taste of All Blacks rugby.
After starting the two Tests against England at fullback, Stephen Perofeta is currently nursing a "bit of a niggle", with coaches opting to bring in fellow Blues playmaker Harry Plummer as injury cover.
Former fullback Jordie Barrett also expressed his excitement to have the speedster back to full health. The Kiwi vice-captain was asked what he was hoping to see from Jordan after a hat-trick the last time these two sides met in the Rugby World Cup semi-final.
“More of that would be great,” Barrett replied with a smile. “It was good to see Will back in the squad with a smile on his face.
“He got a few minutes with the Tasman Mako on the weekend and he’s a great player. His try-scoring record speaks for itself and he’ll be looking forward to his inclusion in the squad, maybe. He’s been training really well.”
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Latest Comments
Recent complaints that SA players have a 12-month workload isn't of itself a credible enough excuse to lay at the door of EPCR administrators. If SA clubs want to participate in NH league and club competitions and also participate in SH internationals, then clearly something has to give.
From the EPCR perspective, I do think that the format/schedule issues can be fixed if there's a strong enough desire to remove some of the logistical challenges clubs are facing with these long and frequent trips across the hemispheres.
From the SA player workload perspective however, I'm not sure how players can participate safely and competitively at both the club and international levels. Perhaps - and as Rassie appears to be developing, SA develop a super squad with sufficient player numbers and rotation to allow players to compete across the full 12-month calendar.
Bottom line though, is the geographical isolation is always going to restrict SA's ability to having the best of both worlds.
Go to commentsMoriaty refused to play for wales also he’s injured, France’s is being coy about wales, North in the dark but Sam David and jerad are you joking their not good enough
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