Wallabies head coach Les Kiss says Carter Gordon was probably first in line at fly-half before he broke his leg against Argentina in September. Now Gordon is back at 10 for Sunday’s Test against Scotland.
Asked whether Gordon is now top of the tree, Kiss said: “Certainly Carter was probably the incumbent before all that anyway. So he was in a position of strength…”
Gordon replaces Declan Meredith at Murrayfield, after missing the 45-22 defeat to England as a precaution.
Should Gordon walk straight back into the No 10 shirt, or has Meredith done enough to keep it?
READ MORE: Carter Gordon is coming back. Keep Declan Meredith at 10
What Carter Gordon brings: ‘He loves to change direction’
“So I think it’s credit to him, the work he’s done over the last period with that broken bone that he had,” Kiss said. “He’s worked extremely hard, very diligently.”
“Carter will bring his flavour,” he added. “We know that Carter will bring his voice, the way he loves to play the game.”
“He loves to carry the ball forward. He loves to change direction,” Kiss continued. “And he’s got a savvy eye for the space and kicking game as well.”
“So, it’ll be different,” Kiss said. “And I think for him to flourish, we need to make sure that we’re winning certain other parts of the game that give us a bit of momentum for him to play well.”
‘That’s not just coach speak’
Asked how Gordon could unlock the backline after a long spell out, Kiss looked past the No 10.
“Look, I think if other parts of a game work better, everything opens up a bit more. So it’s not just one area and one person,” he said. “And that’s not just coach speak. It’s true.”
Others were given a chance at 10 while Gordon was out, and Kiss said the results were mixed.
“Has it been complete? No. But that’s not always on the 10 only,” he said. “I think there’s a few other things that haven’t been quite right. But when we flowed well, we see the best of them.”
READ MORE: Les Kiss: Scotland ‘not predictable at all’ with Finn Russell
Why the Wallabies kept three backs on the bench
Kiss was asked if he had been tempted by a 6-2 bench, with six forwards and two backs among the replacements.
“We chat 6-2 and 5-3 often. We definitely do,” he said. “This is Carter’s first game back… He’s got a good engine on and we know that. We just want to make sure we just cover that properly.”
Ben Donaldson is the back-up fly-half, with Tate McDermott and Filipo Daugunu the other backs on the bench.
Gordon’s first game back is against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday 15 November. If the other parts of the game work, Kiss says the rest opens up. If they do not, the No 10 debate starts again.
READ MORE: Ewen McKenzie: the Wallabies fly-half spot is a perpetual problem
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