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Some believe selecting Carter Gordon in the No.10 jersey for Saturday’s Bledisloe at the MCG is playing with fire. Not Eddie Jones, who says it’s the perfect time for the rising playmaker to make his starting debut.
Despite the annual high stakes trans-Tasman fixture, Jones has gone on the offensive, making seven changes to his starting side to take on the All Blacks in the nations’ first Test at the MCG since 2007.
Thursday morning’s announcement confirmed The Roar’s Wednesday report, with young halves Tate McDermott and Gordon called into the starting side ahead of Nic White and Quade Cooper.
Gordon, 22, will start for the first time after making two Tests off the bench earlier this month.
His teammate McDermott, 24, wasn’t selected by Dave Rennie for last year’s Bledisloe series.
Carter Gordon. (Photo by Pete Dovgan/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Now the fresh-faced blonde kids have been tasked with getting the Wallabies’ year back on track following consecutive defeats to South Africa and Argentina.
Nor has Jones shied away from lauding the rising playmaker’s talent, comparing him to former World Cup winners Butch James and Stephen Larkham.
“To me, if you look back at past players, great 10s, he’s got a bit of Butch James defence, he’s a tough kid and he’s got that little bit of the glide that Larkham had. He can take the ball at pace, he’s got a good long pass and he’s got a good short passing game,” Jones said.
The Wallabies coach added that part of his thinking around the halves selection, Gordon particularly, was juggling Bledisloe Cup ambition with the looming World Cup.
“Well, it’s a Bledisloe Cup game, it’s his home town, it’s the best place he can debut,” he said.
“There’s two things here, there’s the Bledisloe Cup and building for the World Cup. So, I’m trying to do two things at once. This week’s the right one to do it and there’s no better time than against the Kiwis.”
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones believes Carter Gordon has a bit of Butch James and Stephen Larkham about him. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
The duo are two of four backline changes, with Jordan Petaia, who sensationally started at outside centre against Jones’ England in the 2019 World Cup quarter-final, and Andrew Kellaway returning from injuries to start at outside centre and fullback respectively.
“I remember seeing him in 2019. Cheik pulled him out of nowhere and he played in that quarter-final and he did a couple of electric things,” Jones said.
“He’s been in and out, had a fair bit of injury concern, but he trained yesterday with some power and pace and he’s going to be a great player for us.”
Up front Jones has also made some curious changes, with damaging runner Angus Bell called in to start ahead of regular co-captain James Slipper, who returns back to the bench.
By doing so, Jones has been forced to name a new acting skipper, with Allan Alaalatoa to lead the side from the opening whistle.
The front-row tweak offers Jones another strong ball-runner, while Taniela Tupou, who will make his return to the Wallabies after playing 40 minutes for Australia A in Tonga a fortnight ago, will also provide some power from the bench.
After missing the Test against Los Pumas, Nick Frost returns to partner Will Skelton in the second row. Richie Arnold drops back to the bench.
Tate McDermott will start for the Wallabies at halfback. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
The other intriguing selection is that of Tom Hooper to start at openside flanker.
With Michael Hooper still absent, having tweaked his calf in the lead up to the Wallabies’ 34-31 loss to Michael Cheika’s Pumas, Jones has turned to the bigger body of the Brumbies utility forward ahead of Fraser McReight.
“We just feel it’s a battle of the breakdown, we didn’t get enough pressure on the Argentinean breakdown last week and we feel Tom can do that job for us,” Jones said.
It’s a tough call, one that will leave McReight feeling somewhat shaky on the eve of the World Cup.
After Pete Samu was dropped ahead of the Bledisloe regrouping, McReight would have hoped to have been given another opportunity to build on his showing against Los Pumas.
While McReight wasn’t able to get any turnovers, he was busy in defence and slowed the ball down. The issue was his timing.
But Jones has instead turned to Hooper, who was a shock starter at openside flanker for the Brumbies’ semi-final loss to the Chiefs in June.
Tom Hooper will play his second Test for the Wallabies after being called up ahead of Fraser McReight. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
His busy performance and strong frame saw him called up for a remarkable debut against the Springboks, where he played at blindside flanker alongside Michael Hooper and Rob Valetini.
A shoulder injury saw the 22-year-old depart after 30 minutes against the Boks.
Adding salt to the wound, his performance was less than he had hoped as he was made to look worse than he played after the Wallabies’ spacing was pulled to pieces after being smashed at the gain line.
His selection, however, indicates that the Wallabies believe his bigger frame is needed to stand a chance of matching the All Blacks at the gain line battle. It’s a move straight out of the Springboks playbook.
“I think the best game I saw from an Australian 7 was Tom against the Chiefs,” Jones said.
“The Chiefs were obviously a very good team in Super Rugby and the way he competed hard at the breakdown against those guys was first class. And he can do a job for us on Saturday as well.”
Meanwhile, local forwards Jordan Uelese and Rob Leota have also been named on the bench, with both men needing big performances to put themselves firmly in the frame for plane tickets to France.
Jones said starting well was essential against the All Blacks and added that part of his thinking of naming a side with plenty of young faces was because they wouldn’t carry the wounds of past Wallabies sides into the Bledisloe fixture.
“Well, you’ve got to get out of the gates against New Zealand,” he said.
‘We’ve picked a young team. I don’t think I’ve ever picked a younger Test team. I think we’ve got 290 caps in the starting 15. It’s a very young team. 290 caps. The All Blacks I’d say have close to 1000.
“So, we’ve got a young team out there, ready to take them on, not much past history. Just ready to play and we want to play Australian rugby. And then we’ve got a very experienced bench. Guys like Slipper and Nic and Quade come on, and it’ll be a different role for them. It’ll be an interesting finish to the game.”
Wallabies team to play All Blacks
1. Angus Bell (21 Tests)
2. David Porecki (12 Tests)
3. Allan Alaalatoa (acting captain) (66 Tests)
4. Nick Frost (10 Tests)
5. Will Skelton (26 Tests)
6. Jed Holloway (11 Tests)
7. Tom Hooper (1 Test)
8. Rob Valetini (32 Tests)
9. Tate McDermott (23 Tests)
10. Carter Gordon (2 Tests)
11. Marika Koroibete (53 Tests)
12. Samu Kerevi (43 Tests)
13. Jordan Petaia (25 Tests)
14. Mark Nawaqanitawase (4 Tests)
15. Andrew Kellaway (21 Tests)
Finishers
16. Jordan Uelese (17 Tests)
17. James Slipper (129 Tests)
18. Taniela Tupou (47 Tests)
19. Richie Arnold (2 Tests)
20. Rob Leota (14 Tests)
21. Nic White (61 Tests)
22. Quade Cooper (78 Tests)
23. Izaia Perese (3 Tests)
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.