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How Carter Gordon ‘got back on the horse’ after Bledisloe I defeat
At just 22 years of age, playmaker Carter Gordon was given the keys to the Wallabies’ Ferrari when he was named to start in the No. 10 jersey against the All Blacks last weekend.
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Following back-to-back losses to start their international campaign, coach Eddie Jones selected Gordon at flyhalf ahead of veteran Quade Cooper. It was a bold call ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
With almost 84,000 fans at the world-famous MCG, Gordon and the Wallabies were met with a deafening cheer as they made their way out onto the hallowed turf.
Once the ball was kicked high into the Melbourne sky, and the match got underway, Gordon showed glimpses of promise during a rapid opening quarter against the New Zealanders.
Playing in the halves alongside dynamo Tate McDermott, Gordon threatened the All Blacks’ defensive line with some quick thinking down the blindside on multiple occasions.
But, unfortunately for the young pivot, things took a turn. Gordon missed what appeared to be a relatively routine penalty shot at goal, and was unable to recover from there.
Gordon was failing to hit the mark with some in-field kicks, and also dropped a clearance from the All Blacks cold. The rising star was replaced in the second half for veteran Cooper.
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Unsurprisingly, Gordon has kept hold of the keys ahead of this weekend’s second Bledisloe Cup Test in Dunedin. Gordon will start alongside McDermott – who has been given the captaincy – in the halves once again.
The pair will look to provide the likes of Jordan Petaia, Mark Nawaqanitawase and Samu Kerevi with quality ball against a new-look All Blacks outfit.
Kerevi, who was joined by replacement Gordon in the midfield against Los Pumas last month, said the Wallabies “back Carter” to bounce back at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
“We back Carter and also Quadey, whoever jumps in that No. 10 (jersey),” Kerevi told reporters on Thursday.
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“Carts as a young fella, he’s got a lot of confidence in himself as well which is really important and drives the teams’ standards and the team well.
“For myself, just keep giving him that confidence to play his game and trust the gameplan that we’ve put ahead of us because that’s all I can do.
“I keep supporting him because at the end of the day, he’ll shine through. These games are like this, (it’s) a great game to grow yourself as a man and as a player and as a leader.
“He got back on the horse pretty quick, and didn’t look down too much. Obviously down about the result but back on Monday, once we landed, we’re back on the horse.”
The Wallabies have been in New Zealand for close to a week now, and have had to battle through some turbulent conditions as they continue to prepare for their ‘rematch’ with the All Blacks.
Head-to-Head
Last 5 Meetings
Wins
5
Draws
0
Wins
0
Average Points scored
36
20
First try wins
20%
Home team wins
40%
Earlier this week, this journalist understands that the Australians trained in some tough conditions. But on Friday, when they ran out onto Logan Park in Dunedin, it was nothing but blue skies.
The same couldn’t be said for the All Blacks, though, who ran out onto the same field later in the afternoon. It was sunny one minute, and absolutely bucketing down the next.
“I think we complained about it maybe on Sunday when we first landed,” Kerevi joked. “The boys’ response throughout the week has been amazing.
“Some boys from Fiji have never seen this type of cold and this type of weather. But Dunedin’s put it on for the first couple of days, I think there was a bit of sun.
“We met some locals and they think we brought the sun with (us).
“Obviously it’s going to be a game under the roof there… the cold is what it is, we’ve just got to get on with it and I think for us the focus has been our team.”
The Test between the Wallabies and All Blacks is set to get underway at 12.35 pm ASET on Sunday afternoon.
It’s the Wallabies’ last Test in the southern hemisphere before heading to Europe before the Rugby World Cup in France. They’ll play the tournament hosts in their final warmup before the tournament.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments