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SAINT ETIENNE – Carter Gordon was given the keys to the driver’s seat for the World Cup. Then they were taken away, before his young body gave way, leading to his premature departure from the Wallabies’ camp.
But Eddie Jones believes Gordon has a “great opportunity” to fine-tune his skill set and will be better off for the “ups and downs” he experienced during a whirlwind World Cup.
Gordon’s selection for the World Cup wasn’t surprising given his fine season for the Melbourne Rebels.
What was surprising was that the 22-year-old was entrusted to run the cutter in his rookie season, with veterans Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley left out.
What’s more, Gordon’s back-up, Ben Donaldson, struggled for consistency throughout the Super Rugby season so much so the Waratahs didn’t fight to keep his services. Donaldson, too, had just two Tests under his belt, both in 2022.
While the Wallabies got past Georgia comfortably, Gordon’s inexperience was exposed against Fiji as he struggled on both sides of the ball.
His timid attempt to catch a high ball early in the second half, which led to Fiji’s only try in a moment that proved defining in the overall contest, was a stark contrast to the way he threw his body into the defensive line and attacked the line and kicked without fear throughout the Super Rugby season.
Nor did the Wallabies’ desire to play off halfback help the rising playmaker, who was the main shot caller for the Rebels in 2023.
Gordon’s struggles against Fiji, where he was replaced in the 50th minute, led to him being dropped against Wales. His replacement Donaldson had his moments, but his inconsistency against Wales came home to roost.
Eddie Jones says Carter Gordon will benefit from his “up-and-down” World Cup campaign. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
A knock to his knee at training led to Gordon missing the Wallabies’ final Pool C fixture against Portugal, leading to the blonde-haired playmaker to fly home before their pool exit is likely officially confirmed.
Despite his tough first World Cup experience, Jones said the experience of playing in such a major tournament would be beneficial.
“I think it was a great experience for him,” Jones said.
“He’s a young 10, he’s played a handful of Super Rugby games. He’ll be better for it, it was about giving him some experience to be a good Test player.
“He had his ups and downs, as young players do, but he’s got a great opportunity now to take that forward.
“He’s disappointed but I think he learned a lot, learned a lot about himself. When you’re a young player coming through, particularly when you’ve got that talented tag on you, there’s that realisation when you get to this level it’s about your discipline, it’s about your hard work – it’s not that he doesn’t have those qualities but he’s going to have to develop those qualities, even more, to be successful and I’ve no doubt he’s got that firmly entrenched in his mind.”
While some believe the Wallabies run the risk of mental scarring, Jones said only being put to the test out in the middle could help their development.
“The best experience is having the lessons. You learn from the lessons,” he said.
“How can you learn quicker? Study other players off the field, talk to senior players off the field about their experiences, that’s the way of supplementing his learning.”
Carter Gordon of Australia iby Simione Kuruvoli during the Wallabies’ 22-15 loss to Fiji at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on September 17, 2023 in Saint-Etienne. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The question is, who?
“At the moment it’s about him working on himself and then when he’s at the right stage, we’ve got some great 10s in Australia, [Stephen] Larkham [and Stephen] Lynagh, all been World Cup winners, they’re the guys to start with,” Jones said.
Samu Kerevi, who by his own admission wasn’t at his best after rushing back from injury for the tournament, said Gordon’s mental toughness stood out to him.
“I thought Carts was really good in terms of where his head is at, at his age,” Kerevi said.
“At a World Cup, you’ve got the whole nation on your shoulders and, as a 10, he came out all guns blazing.
“There’s still a lot of learning for him to go through but the way he’s carried himself, gutted for him to that niggle in his knee right before the last game and it didn’t just come right, I know he can bounce back.
“He’s a guy that takes criticism and learnings pretty well to move forward. I know he’ll take it forward to Melbourne.”
Asked whether the Wallabies could have benefitted from another experienced playmaker to take the pressure off Gordon’s young shoulders, Kerevi said the squad had belief they could challenge for another World Cup title.
“I know everyone has their thoughts on the squad, but we picked it and that’s what we ran with,” the experienced midfielder said.
“There was full belief in the squad that we had we were going to win a World Cup, and that was the belief we had from the get-go.
“Everyone can talk about experience and what-not, but a lot of things didn’t go the way we wanted it to with injuries and lack of playing time for certain boys. It’s on us boys that we didn’t get the results on the field.
“Of course, experience is awesome, but we had a lot of other positive things that came from the youth, that came from here in terms of the energy and the resilience to keep working hard for each other and have that confidence just to go into the games head down.”
Eddie Jones and Carter Gordon talk during a Wallabies training session. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Jones, who said that his one regret from the campaign was leading the sessions that resulted to injuries to Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton, added he stood by the decision to turn to youth for the tournament and that the Wallabies were likely one dropped ball away from being on the cusp of a quarter-final appearance.
“I made the decision when I came in, I assessed the playing pool and said we need to make a change. And it was high risk,” Jones said.
“We catch one kick against Fiji and maybe we’re sitting here already qualified for the quarter-final. And they’re the small things that happened that can sometimes affect your obvious progress, but this team is going to be a good team.”
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.