Fresh from leading the Wallabies to a resurgent 25-16 first-up victory under Joe Schmidt, Jake Gordon has backed fellow recalled playmaker Noah Lolesio to wear the No.10 jersey against Wales in Melbourne on Saturday night.
The Waratahs captain also admitted he was pleased to have stayed in Australian rugby, having asked Rugby Australia for an early exit from his two-year deal after being headhunted in France.
The duo combined for the fourth time in gold and helped the Wallabies atone for last year’s World Cup disaster against Wales, where Warren Gatland’s men effectively ended their campaign in France.
Gordon was outstanding in the nine-point victory, with his accurate kicking, fizzing pass and tenacious defence pivotal in starting the season with a win. It also explained why he was awarded player of the match.
His halves teammate Lolesio came under sharper scrutiny.
Lolesio was solid in his first Test since leading the Wallabies to a come-from-behind victory off the bench against Wales in Cardiff.
Noah Lolesio came under scrutiny despite the Wallabies defeating Wales at Allianz Stadium on July 06, 2024. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The 24-year-old freed up Filipo Daugunu for the Wallabies’ second try, showed a variety of kicking options and even got on the ball to produce one turnover.
But a poor first half missed penalty, which was followed by a clumsy fumble and, later, an overshot cross-field kick for Andrew Kellaway meant he left the door ajar for others to question whether he has the tools to become the Wallabies’ long-term option at No.10.
Indeed, two-time World Cup-winner Tim Horan questioned the “low-percentage play” from Lolesio when he chose to put the ball on the toe for Kellaway midway through the second half rather than through the hands.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said the play revealed the “fine margins” of the game and added that he liked the “endeavour” of Lolesio.
Gordon, who has been in and out of the Wallabies since 2018, admitted Saturday’s win was never going to be perfect but thought his young halves partner played his part in the successful start.
“Pretty pleased with it,” he said of how their combination fared.
“We had a pretty short run into the first game and I think the expectation was that it was never going to be perfect.
“Rugby’s never perfect, but I thought for the majority, we played at the right ends of the field, our distribution was strong and, yeah, I’ve enjoyed playing with Noah and I thought he was strong.”
Asked whether he saw the value of building on their first-up victory by picking the same side, Gordon said he had “no idea” about Schmidt’s thought process around selection.
“The one thing with Joe, he doesn’t give too much away,” Gordon said.
“The first week, he had us picking our own teams at one point.
“I’d love to play again and play with Noah, but that’s out of my control and I’m not too sure what he’s going to do there.”
Jake Gordon prepares to pass against Wales during the Wallabies’ 25-16 win over Wales at Allianz Stadium. (Photo by Luis Veniegra/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
It wasn’t long ago that Gordon was dreaming of drinking French rosé and eyeing a move to Provence in the PRO D2 competition, but the veteran Waratahs halfback said he “definitely” made the right decision by staying put in Australia.
“We’ve got a really exciting 12 months ahead of us, it feels pretty good,” he added.
“It was special. It’s been a challenging 12 months and [I] obviously haven’t had too many wins this year, so it was a great feeling.
“But I was also happy for everyone in the group. I think we had seven debutants and individually to be able to play and start a game like that at home is pretty special.”
Although Gordon’s running game and ability to find the tryline has always been a feature of his game, the 31-year-old’s kicking game hasn’t always been met with the same praise.
SAndrew Kellaway and Jake Gordon smile after their victory over Wales at Allianz Stadium on July 06, 2024. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
But Gordon’s ability to relieve pressure, particularly after the Wallabies scored points, was a feature of his marvellous performance on a greasy evening at Allianz Stadium.
Such was his performance that it had a bit of Conor Murray about him, with the veteran Irish halfback playing a key role under Schmidt during the New Zealander’s time in the Emerald Isle.
But Gordon said his kick-heavy performance had more to do with playing the conditions than anything else.
“It was actually quite a lot wetter than we expected,” he said. “I know there was a little bit of shower in that afternoon, but it was quite messy and there was a lot of movement underfoot.
“We had a game plan of probably playing at the right ends of the field a little bit more and Test match rugby is quite a little bit different to Super Rugby where possession and playing at the right ends of the field become really important.
“I wouldn’t say a massive focus on it, it just ended up sort of falling into that with the wetter ball.”
The Wallabies flew to Melbourne on Sunday afternoon after recovering in Coogee on Sunday morning.
Conditions are expected to be much the same at AAMI Park on Saturday, with the conditions cool.
Despite the positive start, Gordon said no-one was getting ahead of themselves.
“We’re obviously pretty happy with the result,” Gordon said.
“We’re focusing on ourselves again this week, there’s still a few things we probably could sharpen up on.
“We had a fair few opportunities in that second half, there was a turnover and in those Test matches, those little moments are really important.
“We are thrilled, but there’s definitely still a lot to work on.
“The overarching [feeling out of the review was an] attention to detail around the fundamentals of the game, skill-set, breakdown, and cleanout quality has been really rammed home.”