'It's special': Gordon won't shy away from kicking as Wallabies open up on Gregan's timely RWC advice

SAINT ETIENNE – Carter Gordon insists his goal-kicking will improve when it matters most and believes the experience of playing the host nation in front of a packed house will hold them in “good stead” for the tournament.

Gordon, 22, struggled from the kicking tee against Les Bleus, hitting just one from five during the Wallabies’ 41-17 loss last weekend in their final hit out before their World Cup campaign gets underway against Georgia on September 8 in Paris.

The 10 points the playmaker left out on the field, including eight points in the first half and two mid-range penalty shots, meant the Wallabies were playing catch up at 16-5 at half-time.

His struggles, which came after missing crucial penalties against the All Blacks in consecutive Bledisloe Tests, have been amplified because the fly-half is just one of two goal-kickers in the squad after Quade Cooper and Reece Hodge amongst others were left out of the World Cup squad.

Carter Gordon has a big role to play for in 2023. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Nor is Gordon a regular goal-kicker either, with Hodge previously being tasked with the job at the Melbourne Rebels.

With sharpshooters historically pivotal in World Cups and particularly finals – 72 per cent of points in World Cup finals have come from shots at goal – Gordon has an important role if the Wallabies are to go deep in the campaign.

Eddie Jones, who interestingly chose to have his weekly media conference with Gordon alongside him, acknowledged following last weekend’s that the Wallabies’ kicking issues were a “100 per cent a concern” but added, “all we can do is work with the young kid”.

Head Coach, Eddie Jones, Will Skelton and Carter Gordon speak to media during an Australia Wallabies press conference ahead of the Rugby World Cup France 2023, at Stade Roger Baudras on August 31, 2023 in Saint-Etienne, France. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Gordon said the Wallabies had benefitted from getting an early feel of playing at the Stade de France against France, with the men in gold to play their first World Cup match against Georgia at the same venue.

“It’s been a pretty good week in France. Playing at the Stade de France was an awesome experience. It’s an unreal stadium,” said Gordon, following the Wallabies’ open training session at the Stade Roger Baudras just outside Saint Etienne.

“I think it’s put myself and the team in good stead for the first game of the World Cup.”

Gordon, who had never kicked a penalty in a professional match before slotting one against the All Blacks in Dunedin in the first half last month, said he was confident of improving his radar.

“Obviously, on the weekend, I didn’t have the goal-kicking performance I was after and I’m working hard at the moment,” he said.

“It’s going to be better.”

Gordon has got a well-respected supporter in World Cup-winner Matthew Burke, who kicked 49 of the Wallabies combined 62 points throughout their semi-final and final win in 1999.

Burke said he was confident Gordon would stand up to the pressures of kicking for goal and pointed to his former goal-kicking coach Dave Alred, who worked alongside the young Wallabies 10 for three years at the Reds, as one reason why.

“It’s Dave Alred (Burke’s and Jonny Wilkinson’s kicking coach) through and through, it’s Wilkinson-esque, and he hits it really well, he hits it really straight,” Burke told The Roar last week.

“He is our number one kicker and he obviously will be, so I just hope he gets the rest of his kicking game, he was a bit nervous in Melbourne, I hope he gets the rest of his kicking game going to allow him to play and ease into games.”

The Wallabies train at Stade Roger Baudras on August 31, 2023 ahead of their World Cup opener on September 9. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Gordon said he still tapped into Alred’s coaching manual and was also working closely with former AFL coach turned Wallabies assistant David Rath.

“He’s [Rath] been helping me massively on the field and we’ve gone some psychologists, so I’ve been working with them,” Gordon said. 

While a niggling groin and hip flexor meant Gordon was limited with his kicking practice throughout the year for the Melbourne Rebels, the fly-half said it was “no excuse”.

“I’m injury free now,” he said. “I can do as much goalkicking as I need to.”

Gordon was one of several players on Thursday who spoke of the confidence they had been given by Jones’ decision to back youth.

“The confidence Eddie has for myself and the team is huge, and that really drives me and it drives the team and, look, I just can’t wait to get out there and play again,” he said.

Indeed, it’s the youngest Wallabies squad to go to a World Cup since 1991 with an average age of 25.8, while only five players are over the age of 30.

Former Junior Wallabies captain Fraser McReight, who is one of 25 players from the group of 33 playing in their maiden World Cup campaign, said the group had been given another dose of confidence from the visit by George Gregan for last week’s Test in Paris.

“We had George Gregan in earlier in the week and he said you don’t get experience until someone backs you,” McReight told reporters.

“For us, we’ve had the backing from Eddie. It fills me with confidence. If it fills me with confidence, I know it is going through the rest of the group.

“Just the group itself, we play with confidence and we all love each other.  I’m super excited to rip in with these loads.”

Fraser McReight says George Gregan’s words were well received by the current group of Wallabies. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

McReight said it was a “dream” to be at the World Cup and that they were ready to rip in after a nervy period ahead of the campaign.

“We got picked up a few weeks ago now, but we had to get through a fair bit of training and the game on the weekend unscathed, which we did, and now we can sort of hit the ground running and really rip in,” he said.

Wallabies winger Mark Nawaqanitawase and forward Tom Hooper said it was “special” to be in France.

“I just echo what Mark said, as a young bloke, that’s your end goal to make the Rugby World Cup and all three of us are pretty young,” he said.

“To be here and being in a team with such youth, it’s really special.”