Update: He was named on Thursday to take on Les Bleus, but the Wallabies will be without Carter Gordon on Sunday (AEDT) for their match against France in Paris – and another regular starter, Billy Pollard, has also been scratched.
Despite Joe Schmidt playing down Gordon’s injury at his team announcement, the 23-year-old was officially ruled out of the Wallabies’ final Test of the year and replaced by Tane Edmed in the starting side on Friday evening. The update came after The Roar revealed on Friday morning that the code-hopper would miss the Test.
Western Force inside back Hamish Stewart, who is more at home in the midfield, has been brought onto the bench.
The injury is the latest setback for Gordon, who missed the opening two Tests of the tour because of a quad injury suffered ahead of the win in Tokyo against Eddie Jones’ Japanese.
Gordon returned to take on Italy in Udine, but was replaced midway through the second half after pulling up lame following a clearing kick. At the time, the Wallabies led 19-12 after the playmaker pounced on a loose ball and skinned Monty Ioane to score.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt in discussion with Carter Gordon and Tane Edmed (R). Photo: Julius Dimataga, Rugby Australia
His injury setback led to Schmidt drafting veteran playmaker James O’Connor back into the squad for the match against Ireland, where he surprisingly started in the No.10 jersey.
But his return was short-lived as the Wallabies copped a record 46-19 hiding in the Irish capital.
O’Connor, meanwhile, was considered surplus to requirements given Gordon’s return.
That decision now seems short-sighted following Gordon’s scratching because of another setback with his quad.
Asked whether Gordon was still plagued by injury, Schmidt played down the Reds recruit’s fitness concerns at his team announcement on Thursday.
“I’m hoping not,” Schmidt said. “I’m hoping he can do the full spectrum of skills required of him.
“When you’re coming back from an injury, I’ve seen enough players kind of, if it’s a hamstring, they’ll just put their hand on the back of their hamstring and it becomes almost a psychosomatic reaction.
“I’m hopeful that Carter gets through [Friday’s] captain’s run.
“We pulled him out a little bit early today because we’re trying to build him into the game.
“But I felt he trained really well, ran the team really well, kicked out of his hand well in the actual training session. So yeah, he’s an exciting prospect and we’ve got Tane to back him up.
“Tane’s kind of growing all the time. And he’s one of the guys who benefited from having James O’Connor in the environment and helping him to understand more about his role and probably just to understand more about how his role needs to facilitate the roles of others in the game.”
James O’Connor was left out of the Wallabies’ squad for their final Test. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
The on-and-off relationship between Schmidt and O’Connor has dominated discussion for months.
After O’Connor’s marvellous Test comeback in August against the Springboks, Schmidt has been reluctant to continue to back the 35-year-old.
Indeed, the Leicester playmaker came off the bench against Argentina in The Rugby Championship, before starting against the All Blacks at Eden Park.
Perplexingly, the start against New Zealand came after he flew to London to join his new club, but returned Down Under just days later.
While he missed the Tests against Japan and England, which were played outside the international window, Schmidt left O’Connor out of the match against Italy before issuing him another SOS.
But he was then told he wasn’t required for the Test against France.
Asked whether he thought about keeping O’Connor in the squad, Schmidt said it wasn’t necessary.
“It would have been great to keep James with us, but with Carter and Tane, and Hamish there to cover, it was an extra player that would have been a luxury,” Schmidt said.
“I was pretty keen for him to feel comfortable. He’s only just settling into Leicester and talking to James this morning, he said there’s been a bit of a nice blue sky there, and he’s back with the intent to keep building his game.
“Certainly [he] has always displayed a real passion to play for the Wallabies and that hasn’t gone away.
“He was obviously involved in some really big performances for us.”
Joe Schmidt speaks to the Wallabies. Photo: Julius Dimataga, Rugby Australia
Probed whether there was still a way back for O’Connor to feature for the Wallabies and follow the lead of Irish great Johnny Sexton, who featured at the 2023 World Cup aged 38, Schmidt insisted age wasn’t an impediment and selection would purely come down to performance.
“I thought Johnny Sexton was outstanding in the World Cup and James won’t be as old as Johnny was at that stage, so I think age is probably not one of the numbers that necessarily tips the balance,” said Schmidt, who will finish his time as Wallabies coach next August.
“The numbers are, can you still hit your mark, do you still know the game well?
“Even within our squad, when James first came in, it was really just to support the younger tens and to help them grow their own game. He was really useful in that regard and then stepped up and showed them how it was done as well.
“So having James in for that period of time was still really good for Carter and Tane, particularly to just have him in the opposition, giving them some feedback and then also when he ran the team last week, for them to see the manner in which he ran the team.”
Joining Gordon on the sidelines is Wallabies hooker Billy Pollard, who was ruled out with a “hip pointer” injury.
The first-choice hooker was replaced in the starting side by Matt Faessler, while his Reds teammate Josh Nasser has been brought onto the bench.
Despite losing six of their past seven Tests, the Wallabies must beat Fabian Galthie’s side by 16 points or more to finish in the top six on the World Rugby rankings – and secure a top seeding ahead of December’s 2027 World Cup draw on Australian shores.
Defeat would see the Wallabies lose ten Tests for the first time in a calendar year.