Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt admits he was “hurt” by Carter Gordon’s shock NRL defection but remains confident in Australia’s playmaking stocks.
Schmidt opted to leave Gordon (Titans) and Mark Nawaqanitawase (Roosters) out of his first national squad that is preparing for three July Tests on home soil against Wales and Georgia.
Noah Lolesio, Ben Donaldson and Tom Lynagh are now in a three way race to wear the gold No.10 jersey.
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Schmidt indicated he would not stand in the way of the duo seeking early releases to join their NRL clubs despite being contracted to Rugby Australia until the end of the year.
While philosophical, Schmidt conceded Gordon’s code hop at just 23 – and with just eight Tests to his name – hurt.
“Yeah it does because I like Carter and I’d had a few discussions with him,” Schmidt said during an exclusive interview with Stan Sport’s Michael Atkinson.
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“It wasn’t probably as much of a shock to me as it may have been externally. But at the same time, I’m really excited about what Ben Donaldson’s demonstrated with the Force, what Tom Lynagh has delivered and Noah Lolesio has done a great job with the Brumbies, leading them around the field.
“His (Lolesio’s) goalkicking is very much the most accurate and there were aspects of Carter’s game that he was struggling with. And so there was a bit of work still to do for Carter. So in that context, I’m disappointed not to have had the opportunity to work with him, but I’m really excited by the opportunity the coaching group have to work with the three 10s that we have selected.”
Schmidt also elected to snub eligible players that will ply their trade overseas next season.
He appears a real fan of Lynagh, the 21-year-old son of Wallabies legend Michael, and referenced his toughness in dusting off a massive tackle from Chiefs enforcer Samipeni Finau this season.
“I like his kicking game. He’s got a long kicking game, despite not having massive legs, he can certainly get the ball to travel. He kicked a clutch goal recently, I think there’s some mental strength there. He’s sharp on his feet,” he said.
“He’s courageous in the ball carry and he’s a willing tackler in that 10 channel. We don’t expect people to knock big blokes back but we do expect them to hold their own and make sure they wrap guys up and he’s demonstrated a really good chop tackle, a reliable low tackler. So that’s a pretty good mix to bring together and a young player who we see some potential in.”
Lolesio, however, is considered the favourite to get first crack at leading the Wallabies around while Donaldson’s ability to cover fullback makes him attractive as a bench option.
Brumbies star Lolesio was dumped by Eddie Jones last year but rediscovered a spark during a club stint with Toulon.
“I’ve sat in on a couple of meetings where he’s spoken,” Schmidt said.
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“To lead on field, you’ve got to lead a bit off field and you’ve got to have a really good understanding of the game. I think Noah sees the game well and we’ve got a couple of images of him seeing the space and swinging back late into that space, putting the ball where it needs to be. And that’s a promising sign for us.
“He’s kicked at goal really well, he’s been the best of the guys so far and he was good again on the weekend in the semi-final (loss to the Blues).”
The Wallabies are assembling in Brisbane on Sunday for a four day camp.