'They're the guys to start with': Eddie tells Carter Gordon to study the greats after World Cup 'ups and downs'

By Christy Doran / Editor

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.”

The Crowd Says:

2023-10-09T04:11:37+00:00

Cec

Roar Rookie


Yeah Nick’s time is up as first choice.

2023-10-09T02:03:09+00:00

ajhreds


Hi Cec, yep no doubt Tate needs to work on his pass. I just think Nick has had his time and maybe he was playing to Eddie's instructions. I would like to think Lonnegan and rising young halfbacks will develop some test standard stock. Well done Portugal, they showed will grit and played beyond expectations.

2023-10-08T21:35:42+00:00

Cec

Roar Rookie


AJ. Genia’s article also pointed to Lonergan as being the complete 9 and best scrum half at SRAU this year. Tate is good and really like him in the right situations like off the bench at this stage. Tate has improved over three years with his pass and kick but not yet at the point where he’s a test starter. There are plays Tate doesn’t even attempt due to his limited passing; have a look at Georgia on the 68th minute where Nick rips a 12-15m pass left to right to CG. I don’t think we score or attempt that play with Tate there. Historically it shows you need an old head at 9 & 10 to win at a RWC.

2023-10-08T20:11:56+00:00

ajhreds


Cec, I do agree about the lack of experience was the main issue but this was at 10. Not both halves Personally, I would rather have seen Cooper selected instead of Donno and Lonergon ahead of White. At least Tate seemed to energise the backs more than White ever did.

2023-10-08T19:46:10+00:00

Cec

Roar Rookie


Jock it’s plainly obvious that Eddie wanted to kick the leather off the ball. Both ILF and Tate did it with absolutely no sustained success. Just go back to the tape it’s easy to see in those wtf situations like chasing the Fiji game late(wtf IFL). The point AJ was making in his original post was blaming Nick for the losses so again look at the game vs Wales in particular and Nick had nothing to do with our biggest RWC loss in history and biggest loss to Wales as he only had the last 12min on the pitch and came on when that debacle had already reached its crescendo. No it wasn’t Nick and using that game in particular proves the point! The Wales debacle was on Tate, CG and Donno for not being able to execute on the big stage due to their lack of skill; at best those three are only subs. Nick should have been running the show at RWC along with a host of other actual test players who do have test wins on the board. With NL at Brums, it doesn’t sound like you actually follow that team and player or have looked at the stats, NL had an excellent SRP whether it was Nick or Lonergan who split the time at 9 this year.

2023-10-08T19:44:38+00:00

Chronicle

Roar Rookie


You obviously know little about rugby if you think the play at the RWC for the Wallabies has been off the 9 and even know less given the minutes White played. Put you in the same class as Doran. Just keep bagging White and showing your ignorance.

2023-10-08T15:10:06+00:00

Jock

Roar Rookie


Don’t agree. The Wales game is not relevant to the point being made. At Brumbies, NL was constantly being criticised for his lack of team direction but it was really due to the attack being directed from scrum half. Maybe that suited them as their pack was their strength but it inhibited the back play and Noah’s reputation suffered.

2023-10-08T15:02:23+00:00

Jock

Roar Rookie


Spot on and the stats quoted by Harry Jones on ball movement back this up. This is a coaching issue and should have been addressed at Brumbies and Wallabies. Coaches can’t do much about adult player skill levels but they can and should direct team tactics.

2023-10-08T13:17:06+00:00

Try Hard

Roar Rookie


Loosey, strength and speed, I agree with. But skill....no way. Esp in attack. You simply place current backline against Farr Jones, Lynagh, Horan, Little, Campo, Joe and Latham. It would be a one sided game. The forward pack would be a little more difficult due to the changes the front 8 have undertaken in the past 2 decades. In saying that though, I would choose Kearns, Eales, Vickerman, kepu and George Smith.

2023-10-08T13:05:59+00:00

wigster

Roar Rookie


only months in nah not right. Hamish is ok with it because he eddies boy and cant/won't put the heat on him. The setup works really well not

2023-10-08T13:03:19+00:00

wigster

Roar Rookie


Yes a blatant fibber then. :thumbdown: no credibility aye

2023-10-08T13:01:50+00:00

Cec

Roar Rookie


AJ. One play, one pass = excluded…really? Out of all the dumb things happening on the field around White it came down to a pass in QC’s hip. So Eddie explained this to you which is awesome as he hasn’t bothered to explain any of his bizarre stupid choices to anyone else in 2023 :laughing: Definitely came down to picking non-test standard halves in Tate, CG and Donno as they had “the keys”!

2023-10-08T12:55:56+00:00

ajhreds


Cec, well that explains it – it was EJs strategy to Play a low possession game. Also have a look at the RC game where White’s poor pass to Quade got Cooper excluded from RWC. His delivery was far too slow his kicking in 23 has been poor. Will agree to disagree on White’s value at least in 23.

2023-10-08T11:30:10+00:00

Baz

Roar Rookie


Spot on. He has a great natural game. Kicking needs some work but he just needs more experience at the top level. Own your own game.

2023-10-08T11:13:51+00:00

Cec

Roar Rookie


:laughing: and an experienced 2, 6, 7, 9, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 :thumbup: oh ffs how bad did Eddie get that wrong!

2023-10-08T10:54:12+00:00

Cec

Roar Rookie


AJ. You’ve got to be kidding about Nick White. White came on at the 68th minute for Tate against Wales and it was 32 to 6 by then with the game already lost. Blame Tate’s poor decision making and non-test standard kicking and cross field crab for a shiz passing game for that loss! Have a look at the win-loss ratio for Brums over the last 3yrs with White/Noah combo and compare that to any other SRAU team. Both Nick & Noah did just fine compared to other halves pairings. Smoked them in fact! Also look at those wins with White / QC combo (before QC’s Achilles) TRC21, that pairing beat the world champs back to back and WB reached #3 in the world.

2023-10-08T10:49:51+00:00

savant

Roar Rookie


Actually if it’s a 4 million payout, I want what he’s on!

2023-10-08T10:32:35+00:00

ajhreds


In terms of Rugby tactics, kicking game and kick goals - it hasn't - this RWC is an example of that. It's just that WBs have gone away from playing solid Rugby required at test level The only reason the power game has come about is the game being more about the 23 rather than the best 15. So fitness levels are not tested enough due to strategic replacements.

2023-10-08T10:23:50+00:00

ajhreds


I think this is where a 3rd tier comp is required for those not in WB squad. Also any one in the WB squad should have to play in the 3rd tier comp if they are not in the GameDay 23.

2023-10-08T10:22:04+00:00

savant

Roar Rookie


Yes I can see how much playing the best players in the SR competition has done for Australian players in the last 20 years. All those Bledisloes and TRC trophies. You are right our continued participation in the SR comp has nothing to do with revenue to NZ rugby but a showcase of how good Australian rugby is.

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