Eddie Jones’ verdict on Carter Gordon’s union return as Joe Schmidt gave the Wallaby a ‘really hard task’
Wallabies fly-half Carter Gordon and an inset of Eddie Jones.
Eddie Jones has given his verdict on Carter Gordon’s return to rugby union after an injury-hit stint in the NRL.
The 24-year-old marked his comeback to the XV aside game in Wallabies colours with Joe Schmidt handing him the starting number 10 jersey for the clash against Italy in Udinese.
Gordon will join the Queensland Reds ahead of next year’s Super Rugby Pacific season, but returned to the Test fold to help ease a fly-half crisis.
James O’Connor was initially omitted from the touring squad, having linked up with Leicester Tigers, and Schmidt deemed that he needed a break.
Noah Lolesio’s international season ended after just one match, after sustaining an injury against Fiji, while Tom Lynagh suffered a setback in the Rugby Championship game against Argentina – his comeback fixture after being injured in the final British and Irish Lions Test.
Schmidt’s decision to exclude Ben Donaldson from his touring squad meant that Tane Edmed and Gordon were the only two fly-halves in the squad, with the former starting against Japan and England and the latter against Italy.
Tough old day
Jones, who gave Gordon his Test debut and selected him in his 2023 Rugby World Cup squad, believes that it was a ‘hard task’ for him to make his return to union, against the Azzurri, and in front of a passionate crowd.
“It was a tough old day for him, mate,” the Japan boss said on the Rugby Unity podcast.
“He is a big kid, and he’s a very, very talented player, but I thought that it was a really hard task for him; his first game back in rugby against Italy in Udinese and the atmosphere there seemed quite electric, it’s a beautiful stadium there and a lovely part of Italy.
“But, I thought that was a tough ask for him to play that game and maybe he’ll come out of that with some confidence, but I certainly think that the Italians targeted him and he found it quite difficult going.”
Gordon crossed the whitewash in the defeat to Italy, and the side was ahead on the scoreboard before he was replaced by Edmed.
However, Jones was left perplexed as to why his try stood after Harry Wilson lost possession of the ball, which spilt forward before the fly-half scooped it up and scored.
Italy’s improvement
Still, he thought it was a great game of rugby between the two nations and hailed the development of the Azzurri team under Gonzalo Quesada.
“It was an impressive game of rugby. I thought the intensity in the [aerial] contest was really high from both teams and Italy, in particular, have improved enormously in that area,” he said.
“They’ve changed their game a lot under Quesada, and they play a higher kicking game now. When they do get the ball, they’re quite adventurous, and they’ve got two big, strong running centres that help them to play like that because they are able to dent the line and then stay on their feet to give time for their support players to get there.
“It was a really good contest around the breakdown. There were some unusual decisions in that game, too. The third Australian try, I don’t know how that was awarded because it looked like the Italian player tried to strip and loosen the ball, but he didn’t have contact with the ball when the ball was lost. So I can’t see how that’s interpreted as a strip.
“I’ve always been an admirer of Ben O’Keeffe, and I think he’s a pretty good referee, but it seemed like that was just the wrong decision.”
