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'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.
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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.”
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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.
Comments on RugbyPass
All of the Moderna law changes have been to slow the game down, playing into the hands of SA and the north. Incentivising boring, negative rugby. Brilliant changes. Speed up the game.
11 Go to commentsImagine you kick to the lineout, they give away a free kick, you have a great chance at a scrum, sorry sir you have to tap and go. Ridiculous
11 Go to commentsWhile I believe that the Crusaders do not deserve a spot in the playoffs, every single team would be worried to play them no matter where on the table they are. For example, they have the potential to knock out the Blues at Eden Park. They are the Springboks in Super Rugby in that they know exactly how to play knockout footy and have the pedigree and experience to do it. Something is just not quite right with that team this year. Fakatava is prone to to the odd brain explosion and can kick away good ball in bad positions. His work around the ruck and breakdown is a standout. Is he better than Finlay Christie? I’m not sure. TJ Perenara and Cortez Ratima should get two of the spots in the ABs squad. Aumua has so much potential but the midfield is quite well stocked with Jordie, ALB, Tupaea, and Ioane as well as Billy Proctor who is in top form. Aumua would be battling a spot with Tupaea and Proctor.
1 Go to commentsWhy do some Bok fans get so defensive when people have opinions on how the game should be played? Is it really necessary to take it as a personal attack on SA every time?
11 Go to commentsMost crazy rule is when attacking player has to release but defender does not. Stop the defender doing that by saying hands off. That way fender would not kill the ball. Madness and crazy
80 Go to commentsMinicamp rules include no-pads and no tackling.
1 Go to commentsToulouse has enough quality players so no headaches 😁 Choco is rarely a starting centre. Throughout this championship there have been far worse actions that were never called… too many rules, too many rule changes, too many inconsistencies, too many angry fans. I'm not surprised rugby does not attract new spectators, how could they understand 🤣
6 Go to commentsAh yes Andy with his “Goode” views. Oke might as well come out and say it, “I like seeing South African scrums depowered in order to give the rest of the world a chance”. Somehow he thinks World Rugby always knew about calling scrums from marks and it just so happened to coincide with Damien Willemse’s call that they decided to change the rules. Ah come on, if he can't see it then he needs prescription glasses. No ways, they are doing this for the betterment of Rugby. They want to clamp down on Rassie’s innovative skills than encouraging coaches to think outside of the box to try new things. What they can't count on is what Rassie will plan next. I almost get the impression that once Rassie retires World Rugby is going to be scrabbling around trying to find their identity. Currently set at ARP (Anti-Rassie Party). Although I don't really care in that regard because they always a RWC step behind.
11 Go to commentsWow ten years since they had a backing and more from the paying public I’d also mention that as a blues man and in walking distance to the garden I’d say that this team and Vern Cotter have got us dreaming beautiful thoughts and the merit is there from numbers 1 to 23 but we would like to think this is the new dna for the ABs and a pack weighing 940kg dry y not I hasten to add it seems patty has to stay fit cause he is the driver the main driver and they follow plus the pipe man H Plummer is conducting his own orchestra ….. Beethoven anybody
1 Go to commentsJuicy stuff well covered I’d go as far as to say that the referee was a key component in keeping it a tasty spectacle
1 Go to commentsCotter has added that steel that has been missing. Let's see if it will carry until the Finals… Come on the Blues ….
2 Go to commentsAndy Goode just loves to be controversial. Its boring. Let’s all stop reading.
11 Go to commentsYou have got to consider that if the situation was flipped and the French were held to a salary cap with no English equivalent, the English would laugh in their faces and tell them to get over it. As for Leinster (as a fan), the central contract system is a dream but is guilty of cutting out the other 3 provinces. At the end of the day, it comes across outside of the English border that the Premiership is drowning and trying to take everyone else with it rather than adapt. The English lose, the English want new rules. We've seen this repeat (and once it even led to the current Champions Cup) You make many good and informed points, but if the flip was on the other flop, it wouldn't be Rugby’s problem I suspect - it would be a French one.
18 Go to commentsSeems to have been a bright start but it tailed off. To win the big matches you have to get used to putting your foot on the throttle and your opponent’s necks in an 80 minutes performance which is what the All Blacks were renowned for. An example in the Women’s game is England v Ireland in the 6N match played at Twickenham in April. Watch on YouTube.
1 Go to commentsBobby has been a first grade bonehead since high school. Like a true Cape Tonian, his own reflection is more important than anything else.
1 Go to commentsNo comment on the textbook red card for Ramm that was just ignored? Amazing that
4 Go to commentsThese rule changes have been implemented with good intentions, but much like every other rule change focus on isolated symptoms instead of the root cause. If you cannot croc roll, and cannot risk any head contact with a front on clear out, it is not clear how you are supposed to lawfully clear someone out who is attempting a jackal. This will backfire massively and lead to substantially more kicking. Teams will simply not want to take the ball into contact. Or it will lead to even more dangerous methods to clear players out who are over the ball. I much prefer having the set piece on a 30 second shot clock over no scrum on a short arm infringement. Resets are not a problem in themselves, but 90 second water and tactics breaks before every scrum are a big problem. Trainers constantly coming on to the field to help players pull their socks up and delaying the game are a problem. DuPont law was a blight on the game and should have been changed the day after it was first implemented.
80 Go to commentsAh yes, the opinion of Andy Goode… Andy Goode, the man who knows what some of the Irish players said to Eben Etzebeth after the QF, better than what Eben himself knows. And, judging by this piece, the Grandmaster of clichés.
11 Go to commentsI think this is a fair view. As a South African I am concerned about the depowering of the scrum but let’s be honest, until the SA vs FRA quarter many people didn’t even know you could take a scrum from a free kick. As you say it’s going to come down to interpretation… until then we don’t really know how this is going to impact the game. That would lead to my own objection. Do the unknowns of changing a law outweigh the cons of said law. With such an obscure law that most people had never heard of, one that had never really had an impact on the game in the first place is it worth changing to invite so much uncertainty. Better the devil you know then the devil you don’t as it were…
11 Go to comments162 comments so far and counting. i didn't realize that rugby fans are on the way to join the football brothers. what is the point to share personal opinion only to get all this shi*? it seems IRB bosses are doing the great job by killing the spirit of the game both on and outside the pitch. too sad, indeed. btw, was there anything on eben’s point of view from the boys in green, who he mentioned?
164 Go to comments