Eddie Jones’ verdict on ‘disappointed’ Wallaby Carter Gordon
With the Wallabies grouped behind their try line after conceding a decisive score against the Flying Fijians last month, young playmaker Carter Gordon made his way towards the sideline.
It was another frustrating night for Gordon in the Wallabies’ No. 10 jersey. The 22-year-old made a series of errors during the first half, and a brain fade after the break saw Fiji’s Josua Tuisova score.
Gordon was visibly frustrated and disappointed as he walked off the field at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne. The Wallabies went on to lose to Fiji for the first time since 1954.
Having been named ahead of veterans Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley as the sole flyhalf in the 33-man squad, Gordon’s fall from grace was painfully clear. With the Wallabies struggling under coach Eddie Jones, the team's poor form appeared to hurt Gordon the most.
Gordon was ruled out of last weekend’s clash with Portugal due to a knee injury, and the Wallabies later confirmed that the pivot would play no further part in the sports showpiece event.
While the Wallabies are expected to bow out of the tournament at the pool stage for the first time ever, coach Jones described the World Cup as a “great experience” for young Gordon.
“He's a young 10, he's played a handful of Super Rugby games. He will be better for it. It was about getting some experience to be a good Test player,” Jones told reporters on Friday. “He had his ups and downs as young players do but he's got a great opportunity now to go forward.
"It hasn't gone as well as anyone hoped. He's disappointed, but he's learned a lot. He's learned a lot about himself particularly.
“When you are a young player coming through, particularly when you have got that talented tag on you, there's a realisation when you get to this level it's about your hard work, it's about the way you think. Not that he doesn't have those qualities but he's going to have to develop those qualities more to be successful and I've got no doubt he's got that firmly entrenched in his mind."
The Wallabies started their new era under coach Jones with a disappointing loss to South Africa in Pretoria, while losses to Argentina and back-to-back defeats to New Zealand followed.
Australia collected the wooden spoon at the end of The Rugby Championship and failed to win back the Bledisloe Cup as well. Losing to France in their final World Cup warm-up Test was another painful blow.
The Wallabies were 0-5 going into the World Cup, and while they finally brought an end to their losing run with a win over Georgia in Paris, that was as good as things got.
Losses to Fiji and a record World Cup defeat to Wales left the Wallabies on the brink of disaster, with the men in gold needing Portugal to beat the Flying Fijians by eight points or more this weekend.
"It's hard to put in a sentence. We trained hard - every team trains hard for a World Cup - but we worked really hard,” Captain Will Skelton said. “We didn't get the results that we wanted but as we've said, sometimes that scoreline is the last bit of the progress.
"Boys are changing their habits on and off the field. That's a credit to Eddie and the staff and how hard they've been pushing us every day. You can't really question the work effort we are putting in. We are just not really getting the results. But it will come."
Latest Comments
> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
Go to comments