‘It feels pretty good’: Why Gordon is glad he didn’t ditch Australian rugby

Wallabies halfback Jake Gordon says he’s happy he stayed in Australian rugby after a man-of-the-match performance against Wales that has him primed for another start in the second Test on Saturday in Melbourne.

Two months ago, this masthead revealed Gordon had asked Rugby Australia if he could break his contract to take up an opportunity in France.

RA told Gordon they wanted him to fulfil his deal, which runs until the end of 2025.

Gordon didn’t know it at the time but new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt had plans for the Waratahs captain to be in his first XV for the opening Wales Test, ahead of Tate McDermott and Nic White, who both featured at last year’s World Cup.

In his first start for the Wallabies since November 2022, which was against Wales in Cardiff, Gordon was voted best on ground in Australia’s 25-16 victory.

Gordon said he was “definitely” happy to still be in Australian rugby.

Wallabies halfback Jake Gordon ahead of Saturday’s Test against Wales. Credit: Getty Images

“That’s sort of happened now but when you get opportunities like this, and we’ve got a really exciting 12 months ahead of us, yeah, it feels pretty good,” Gordon said.

“It was special. It’s been a challenging 12 months for myself and obviously haven’t had too many wins this year. It was a great feeling. I was also happy for everyone in the group but for myself to be able to play and start a game like that at home is pretty special.”

The Wallabies’ win – their first at Allianz Stadium since 2014 – was a nice reward to mark the start of the Schmidt era, but the team knows it was far from a polished performance.

“We are thrilled but there’s definitely still a lot to work on,” Gordon said. “The attention to detail around sort of the fundamentals of the game, skill set, breakdown and clean-out quality has been really rammed home.”

Jake Gordon takes a high ball against Wales. Credit: AP

After a recovery session at Coogee Beach on Sunday afternoon, the Wallabies flew to Melbourne for the second and final match against Wales at AAMI Park on Saturday night.

Coach Joe Schmidt won’t announce Australia’s team until Thursday but is not likely to make too many changes, with Gordon set to again line up alongside No.10 Noah Lolesio.

Outside-centre Len Ikitau is eligible for selection after overcoming a minor hamstring issue and could come into the starting XV for Josh Flook.

“We got a pretty short run into the first game,” Gordon said of his halves partnership with Lolesio. “The expectation was that it was never going to be perfect. I thought for the majority, we played at the right ends of the field. Our distribution was strong. I’ve enjoyed playing with Noah. I thought he was strong.

“I have no idea [regarding selection]. One thing with Joe, he doesn’t give too much away. I’d love to play again and play with Noah, but yeah, that’s out of my control.”

The Wallabies haven’t won back-to-back Tests since 2021.

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