'Love playing fullback': Will Jordan talks position of choice for All Blacks

Will Jordan is a fullback, or is he? It depends on who you ask. All Blacks coach Ian Foster clearly likes the look of his prodigy on the wing with veteran Beauden Barrett holding down the fort in the backfield. Much of the rugby public on the other hand would like to argue that case.

The 25-year-old rose through the New Zealand rugby ranks with the number 15 on his back, a storied jersey in All Blacks history.

But the dual playmaker model persists as the All Blacks’ flavour of the day, with the New Zealand coaches opting to place their serial try-scorer on the right wing to accommodate an established secondary playmaker at fullback.

It’s a position that Jordan has thrived in at times, with a license to find opportunities across the park providing game-breaking highlights in more expansive games. But, it’s also starved the Super Rugby champion of opportunities in tighter contests.

Adding to the equation is the damaging form of Leicester Fainga’anuku, who ran rampant against Namibia with a game-high 18 carries producing 88 carry metres, four offloads, two try assists and a try with defenders draped all over him.

Promoting the 110kg winger to the starting unit could see the in-form Mark Telea shifted to his familiar right wing and Jordan relocated to fullback. With Barrett’s form the least convincing of the options, the scenario would see him relegated to a bench role.

It’s a hypothetical that is unlikely to see the light of day as Foster is known for prioritising Barrett’s experience and kicking game – the latter of which has featured heavily for the All Blacks in 2023.

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For Jordan though, the mentality is clearer than ever.

“To be honest, it’s something that I’ve got a lot better at dealing with,” he said of his positional preference. “When I first came into the team it was something that I focused on a bit more. I had a lot of people talking to me about it, and it was something that I guess became a bit of a thing.

“Whereas this year I’ve just been more grateful to be on the park. I had that long layoff at the start of the year (with an inner-ear vestibular issue), so I’m just excited to be back out there and I think the Dunedin test and getting a run there kind of got the monkey off the back a little bit.

“I definitely love playing fullback and what that brings. But over the last few years, the wing role has been reasonably good to me as well.”

Sidelined for the Namibia game, Jordan had a chance to “freshen up” and reflect on the disappointing start to the tournament – a 27-13 loss to hosts France where Jordan was yellow-carded for a dangerous contest for a high kick.

Training has been intense during the bye week with a pivotal clash against Italy the next opportunity to right some wrongs before closing out the pool stages against an impressive Uruguay outfit.

“This is a key week for us to grow our game and try a few things,” Jordan added. “When you get everyone competing for spots, it always riles the intensity up. It was a good hitout today, and the forwards by the sounds of it were going hammer and tongs. We’ve had a couple of key focuses around what we need moving forward.

“It’s some stuff around Italy and how we’re going to defend them, and just some big stuff around our breakdown and looking after the ball. We know it’s such a key part of the game, being able to hold ball and put teams under pressure.”

On attack, the All Blacks’ old foe of a rush defence has continued to cause problems. Hot conditions have also wreaked havoc on attacking play and teams are being forced to adjust their game plan accordingly.

“The answer is in the middle, you can’t just run everything from your own end and play willy-nilly rugby. With the defences, the humidity and the sweaty ball, that’s just not possible.

“Winning the kicking duel and being able to counter-attack on your terms is the key, and just being really decisive in that space.