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Will Jordan on whether he’d beat Boks Kolbe and Arendse in 100m dash
By Finn Morton
13 tortoises are roaming the gardens behind the All Blacks’ team hotel in Cape Town. Tortoises with numbers two, three and seven were spotted trekking across the grass on Tuesday afternoon before Will Jordan sat down for an interview.
It just made sense that the first question asked of Jordan had to do with the reptiles, with the All Blacks competing against each other to be the first person to take a selfie with all 13. For those wondering, Beauden Barrett was among those “looking for a photo” on Monday.
This playful competition among the nation's best male rugby-playing talent mirrors their far more serious preparation for the Springboks. Just as some players are looking to win the tortoise challenge, each All Black is also competing for a spot in the starting side.
Jordan started on the right wing last weekend opposite Kurt-Lee Arendse, and two-time Rugby World Cup winner Cheslin Kolbe wore No. 14 on the right edge for the Boks. Those three men are some of the fastest athletes in Test rugby at the moment.
Whether it’s standing tall in defence, changing the game with a try or leaping up to claim a high ball, Jordan is constantly in competition with the world’s best. But, when asked whether he’d beat Arendse and Kolbe in a 100-metre dash, the All Black couldn’t help but smile.
“I don’t know. I guess it’d be interesting,” Jordan told RugbyPass.
“It’s always hard to tell on a rugby field. You don’t get too many opportunities to open up and see the top-end pace.
“They’re certainly pretty quick, particularly off the mark. Over a 100, not sure. Maybe someone will get an intercept this week and we’ll find out.”
Other than the trio of Jordan, Arendse and Kolbe, there are a lot of great wingers around the rugby world. Scotland has Duban van der Merwe who has scored some freakish tries, Ireland has James Lowe, and Damian Penaud almost always stands out for France.
But, if you were to keep writing down names of the world’s best wingers, it’d be pretty hard to look past all four speedsters currently in New Zealand’s squad. Jordan started in the No. 14 jersey last week while Caleb Clarke lined up on the left edge.
On the bench, last year’s World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year, Mark Tele’a, looked to add impact after being named as the team’s final reserve. Tele’a has a habit of breaking tackles and scoring stunning tries in both Super Rugby Pacific and at Test level.
Finally, Sevu Reece is a bit of a forgotten force within the All Blacks. The 27-year-old missed last year’s Rugby World Cup through injury, and while he returned to the Test arena for the first four All Blacks Tests of the year, it won’t be easy for the flyer to return to the First XV.
“It’s good fun. There’s some real characters out there on the wing,” Jordan explained.
“Sevu’s a guy I’ve played a lot with and brings a lot of energy and power to the position, and I thought against England he was fantastic.
“Obviously, Mark over the last couple of years has really nailed his opportunities at Test footy. Such a hard man to tackle - breaks defenders at will.
“Caleb, I’ve been really impressed with him over the last few weeks. Probably struggled a little bit last year, didn’t get as many opportunities as he wanted, but this year’s been fantastic. Two tries on the weekend but the stuff he did in the air, competing there, winning us the ball back, and such a great carry off first phase.
“It’s great. The good thing is we’ve all good different skill sets so we all bring something different to the table and it does certainly push you to keep performing well because you know if you don’t there’s someone there ready to go.”
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Latest Comments
Yeah - 100% of these players were immigrants and arrived mainly as children or teenagers in NZ. And I might add that unlike Lowe, Aki, and Jamieson GP, they reflect the ethnic and cultural makeup of NZ. 185,000 Samoans are not all rugby players....
Unlike professional rugby players, who like Aki and Lowe, had represented their country of origin in both U20 and Maori All Blacks, the 'project players' are a different breed.
But because you are so dishonest, let's see if you can bring some honesty to the discussion:
Agree or disagree:
1. The IRFU enacted a policy of "Project Players."
2. The policy targeted professional rugby players who they considered could, after the residency three-year residency period in existence at that time(now five years), play for Ireland.
3. None of the Southern Unions - RA, NZRFU, etc- have ever enacted any centralized policy and have ever had any "project player."
Be brave - answer the questions - I bet you can't or won't.
Because the facts reflect how dishonest the IRFU and the likes of its fans who are happy to disassemble around how they effectively brought their way to success.
But go ahead and prove me wrong - because if you can't acknowledge facts - what does that say about you?
Go to commentsExcept they are not the British Lions, and haven’t been since the Aus tour in 2001 when the official name was changed to The British and Irish Lions. Trying to link possible Irish unification to the name of the team is quite bizarre, as is your comment about yearning to be under the auspices of a combined sporting structure. I’m assuming it’s a pitiful attempt at being provocative, as it would be unkind to believe that you are actually that stupid.
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