Carter Gordon talks about future of Australian rugby after World Cup, Eddie Jones

One of the young stars thrown to the wolves by Eddie Jones has conceded his sadness at the departure of the Wallabies close, but dismissed the notion the national side will be scarred from its World Cup horror show.

LYON, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 24: Pone Fa’amausili of Australia reacts following the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Wales and Australia at Parc Olympique on September 24, 2023 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Scoffing at the notion they will be scarred for life after the disastrous results at the Rugby World Cup and the mess left by Eddie Jones, the Wallabies’ young guns can finally see some light at the end of the dark tunnel.

While still deeply disappointed by the team’s shock early exit from the tournament in France, rookie five-eighth Carter Gordon and outside back Jordan Petaia both predict a bright future for the Wallabies.

And in their first interview since the World Cup they have an encouraging message for all the sourpusses predicting the Wallabies will never recover from the deep crater they find themselves in now - adamant the painful lessons from France will only benefit the team in the years ahead.

“Absolutely,” Gordon told this masthead after playing in the pro-am at the Australian PGA at Royal Queensland.

“We did take a lot away from France and the World Cup.

“It’s a young group. I think we’ve just soaked in a lot of that information and we’ll be better for it and we’ll take those leanings into the new year.”

Carter Gordon says the Wallabies will only get better after the disappointment of this year’s World Cup. Picture: Chris Hyde

Petaia remains upbeat too. Just 23, he has already played in two World Cups after making his debut as a teenager in 2019.

Like Gordon, who is a year younger, he doesn’t think the poor results from this year will have a lingering negative impact on the next generation of Wallabies.

“Obviously a disappointing World Cup,” he said.

“But you can only really improve from that and grow.

“As Carter said, it’s a young group so the boys will pick up a lot of experience from that campaign and take it forward into the next.”

Despite all the current pessimism around the Wallabies, history proves that plenty of teams and players have rebounded from shockers to become world champions.

The Wallabies were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the 1995 World Cup when they were defending the title they won in 1991 but recovered straight away to win the next tournament in 1999.

England (2003), South Africa (2007) and New Zealand (2011) all won the World Cup after being eliminated in the quarter-finals at the previous edition.

Carter Gordon says he’s grateful to Eddie Jones for giving him the chance to play for the Wallabies. Picture: William West

The Poms failed to make it out of the group stage when they hosted the event in 2015 but made the final four years later.

And long before Jonny Wilkinson became the pride of England with his World Cup winning field goal in the 2003 final, he had been dismissed as a young no hoper after starting in the team that was humiliated 76-0 by the Wallabies in 1998.

Instead of ruining his career, those heavy losses toughened Wilkinson up and the current Wallabies believe the pay-off for losing now could be winning when Australia hosts the next World Cup in 2027.

“The World Cup’s always been the pinnacle of rugby,” Gordon said.

“Obviously, that was my first one so I learned a lot there.

“Just to experience rugby in France with the massive crowds, that really excites me and definitely the other boys to get the World Cup back.”

If the Wallabies need another reminder of why hitting rock bottom is never as bad as it seems, they need only to look at South Africa.

In 2017, the Springboks were humiliated 57-0 by New Zealand, marking their heaviest loss since their first international match in 1891 - prompting calls for a major overhaul.

Two years later they won the World Cup. Last month, in Paris, they retained the trophy.

The only other side to win back-to-back titles are the All Blacks (2011, 2015) but the catalyst for their transformation was crashing out in the quarters in 2007.

“You’ve seen a lot of other teams turn results around pretty quickly,” Petaia said.

“It’s just a matter of time I guess and the way the group will progress forward.”

Still just 23, Jordan Petaia has already played at two World Cups. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images

One of Australia’s most exciting prospects, Gordon was thrown into the deep end when Jones selected him as the only specialist playmaker in the squad.

Jones’ rationale for leaving out older, more experienced players such as Quade Cooper, Bernard Foley and James O’Connor was that he was preparing for the future.

But his gamble backfired when the Wallabies lost to Fiji and Wales and bowed out in the pool phase, triggering the complaints that had led to the departures of Jones and chairman Hamish McLennan.

Jones, in particular, has been savaged over his decision making since leaving his post less than 12 months into a five-year contract but Gordon said the players all greatly respected him and his long-term plans.

“I haven’t spoken to him since he’s resigned but he was unreal for me,” Gordon said.

“Obviously, he was the one who kind of went out on a limb and backed me right from the start so I’m really grateful for what he did there.

“I definitely learnt a lot from him this year. I’m obviously sad to see him go.”

Gordon left the World Cup early after injuring his knee before the final group game against Portugal but said he has since made a full recovery without needing surgery and is already preparing for 2024.

“The knee’s good,” he said.

“I’ve had four weeks off, completely no running or anything like that. I just wanted to see whether it would heal on its own and it did, which it hasn’t.

“So I’m back into training now and pretty much able to do everything and anything I want to and it hasn’t flared up or caused me any trouble since so it’s good.”

WALLABIES’ LEGEND’S OFFER TO HELP REVIVE RUGBY

Dean Ritchie

Rugby union legend David Campese wants to help save the embattled Wallabies.

“I didn’t score the most tries (64) in world rugby by standing back and watching,” said Campese, who played 101 Tests for Australia.

He hopes rugby union will consider elevating him into a coaching, mentoring and advisory role to assist the Wallabies. 

Campese is passionate about wanting to assist in re-establishing the national side following the World Cup failure this year.

He wants to eradicate the structure that has infiltrated the game in Australia because the NRL and AFL are “killing us by entertaining”.

“I don’t want to take over, I just want to be involved because I know I have a lot to offer with a lot of knowledge,” Campese said.

“I learnt to win and that is one thing we have to do in Australian rugby – win and win in style. And we used to win.

“This isn’t about keeping people happy. It’s been difficult for years because of the things I say. It’s not normally what people want to hear.

Samu Kerevi after Australia’s World Cup defeat to Wales. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

“I can’t make the decision for the game but I want to be there somewhere, talk about why we used to win, who we are, coach the coaches and give them the skills. There is an opportunity here.

“I would give the players the skills to try things. The backline used to be our weapon – the skill factor, attack, the moves we used do to keep the opposition guessing. We found a way to entertain crowds.

“We have to give players the skills and confidence to perform under pressure. We have to get away from structure. We are no good as a structured country.

“Yes, I know the game has changed but we have to learn to break down the rugby league-style defence we have in our game at the moment. Union is more about defence these days, not attack.

“Rugby league is played the way rugby union used to be played and rugby union is how rugby league used to be played.”

James O’Connor, David Campese and Michael Hooper in 2019. Picture: Rugby AU Media/Stuart Walmsley

The Wallabies didn’t reach the quarter-finals in France this year and their dismal performances led to coach Eddie Jones and chairman Hamish McLennan being forced to quit.

“When I go and coach kids, the problem is no one knows rugby’s culture and history,” Campese said.

“We have to be professional as a sport and realise we only have a small market.

“But if we entertain and want the kids to want to play rugby, that’s a start, that’s what we really want.

“There are some fantastic opportunities over the next eight or nine years and we need to sit down and say: ‘Right, this is our place’.

“We have to tell the kids the rugby history and the culture and why we used to win.

“I want to be positive about the opportunities rugby presents. We don’t need to fight with rival codes – we need to deliver.”

Campese watched Australia battle through the World Cup. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Campese was in France to watch Australia’s matches.

“It was very sad to be in France and not watch the Wallabies in the quarter or semi-finals,’’ he said.

“It was very, very frustrating. I saw the South Africans and New Zealanders play – we used to beat them once.

“We need kids to understand the opportunities they have been given in rugby. They can go to the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games and play sevens.

“Rugby league and Aussie rules can’t go anywhere and yet they are killing us by entertaining.

“We need to entertain the people so they will come and watch our great game.”

Originally published as Carter Gordon talks about future of Australian rugby after World Cup, Eddie Jones