Gordon commits to Australian rugby and Waratahs with new two-year deal
Waratahs halfback Jake Gordon has signed a new two-year deal and says he never considered leaving Australian rugby.
Gordon, who has 35 Super Rugby caps to go with his one-off Test against Italy last year, will remain at the Waratahs until the end of the 2021 season.
With Waratahs teammate Nick Phipps moving offshore next season to London Irish and Australian No.9 Will Genia’s future unclear, Gordon decided staying in Australia would be the best move for his career.
“I’ve said before it was a dream of mine from a young age to play for the Waratahs and Wallabies and to be able to do that is something really special and I’m happy to be signing on for another two years,” Gordon said on Tuesday.
“I didn’t even need to look [elsewhere]. I made it pretty clear from early I wanted to stay with the Waratahs and Wallabies. It was a pretty easy decision for me to stay here.”
Gordon has played all six matches this season for the Waratahs but came off the bench in the last two outings.
He and Phipps have pushed one another over the past three seasons for a starting spot and that won’t change heading into the business end of the year.
“It’s really good and healthy for the team also," Gordon said. "We try and push every position to be as competitive as me and Nick are and it’s a really healthy thing, week in, week out."
The Wallabies are likely to take three halfbacks in their World Cup squad and Gordon is desperate to be there, knowing he has to show coach Michael Cheika that he can be consistent and effective.
Over the past year or so Gordon has leapt ahead of Brumbies halfback Joe Powell in the national pecking order.
A desire to take the line on more than other No.9s enables the 25-year-old to sniff out a try and keep opposing defences on their toes.
Gordon had a decent debut in Padova against Italy when Genia was rested but would love to represent his country more regularly.
“Whatever game time I’m getting, I’ve got to be consistent,” Gordon said. “I’ve focused on the speed of my pass quite a bit over the last six months.
“I’m looking to lock down that [Wallabies] No.9 jersey but at the moment it’s really focusing on playing consistent rugby for the Waratahs and the rest will take care of itself.”
Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson has been partial to rotating Gordon and Phipps in recent years but the latter is favoured at the moment. Both will be important figures when the Waratahs take on the Blues in Auckland on Saturday evening.
It is unclear at this stage whether Gibson will rest some of his Wallabies representatives but given the Waratahs have a bye the week after, one would think this is a good time to pick a full strength side.
Despite suffering an embarrassing loss to the Sunwolves on Friday, there was a real buzz about Waratahs training on Tuesday as players aim to rectify a lack of skill execution.
NSW came up short by three points last season against the Blues and will face an even better side high on confidence after three wins on the trot.
“They’re a really creative team they’ve got a lot of dangerous ball carriers across the park,” Gordon said.
“For us at the moment we’re really confident in our defence. It’s [about] putting them under a lot of pressure - the same what we did against the Crusaders - and make them play from deep and backing our defensive and really put them under pressure.”