Why Will Jordan is the unlucky man serving out bench duty on Saturday night
Will Jordan is perhaps the unluckiest man floating around the Super Rugby sides this weekend. After three weeks of dynamic displays in the fullback and wing jerseys, the 22-year-old has found himself consigned to the bench for tonight's blockbuster between the Crusaders and the Blues.
With Jordan, Sevu Reece, George Bridge and David Havili all fit and available for selection, there was always going to be one player who missed out on starting but few would have expected it to be the Tasman outside back, who's stood out in a high-flying Crusaders backline.
Jordan tops the Super Rugby Aotearoa try-scoring charts with four to his name, while he's also first in clean breaks, defenders beaten and metres gained. Still, that's not been enough to fend off the challenges of Reece, Bridge and a fit-again Havili.
"It's obviously a hard decision, to start with," Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson said following his team announcement. "In red hot form but when you've got two All Black wingers and your vice-captain [Havili] was probably player of the season before COVID, we spent a lot of time on the decision ... who would start.
"But the young fella is going to bring a lot off the bench. We'd start all four if we could; there's no doubt about his ability to perform but the other guys are really experienced and deserve the opportunity to wear the jersey."
Robertson didn't reveal any shocking truths when asked what makes Jordan such a special player, just confirming what every fan who's tuned into a Crusaders match over the last couple of years will already know.
"He's just explosive, isn't he? He's got great timing and anticipation and can beat a man. He's pretty exciting but he'll get more chances."
With Ben Smith now playing overseas, a spot has opened up in the All Blacks squad for a talented outside back that can cover both fullback and wing. Jordan fits the bill perfectly and Robertson shed some light on what his young prodigy needs to do push for higher selection.
"The consistency over the next five matches for him is really important to keep that going. [The All Blacks selectors] want to see that ability to perform each week but he's got all the abilities required so he's definitely on the radar."
The Crusaders and Blues are both unbeaten heading into tonight's match and the winner will have one hand firmly on the Super Rugby Aotearoa trophy. The match kicks off from Orangetheory Stadium at 7:05PM NZT.
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I guess the other option would be to start ALB, he's looked good in the 12 so far when he starts and sets up those outside him. But that would mean putting the vice captain on the bench, which is unlikely. Another option would be to drop Reiko to the bench and play Proctor, though he's gone home so that's not going to happen either.
Both of those players just offer more of the soft distribution skills good centres learn from playing their careers there. Unfortunately that's what's lacking with the current combo.
Go to commentsWhatever let's see if this load of waffle is still valid in 2 years time. ABs will rise we have a lot of new talent coming through. The NPC was the highest standard for years. The game is changing to suit the fast pace we like to play. We get to play the Springboks more, including the franchises, which will make us better! Overall I am optimistic. I will add having watched the England game multiple times we made most of the play. England are an awesome physical team, but you can expect the All Blacks to get better and better at executing the chances. It could easily have been 5 tries to one instead of 3 to 1.
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