Waratahs scrum-half Jake Gordon has emerged as a strong favourite to skipper the Wallabies during their eagerly anticipated series with the British and Irish Lions, according to reports in the Australian media.
AAP has reported that Gordon will be appointed as Australia’s 91st Test captain for the three-Test series against the Lions which kicks off at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on July 19.
The other two Tests between the Wallabies and Lions will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on July 26 and at Accor Stadium in Sydney on August 2.
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt is expected to name a 40-man squad either next week or the following week, depending on whether the Brumbies win their Super Rugby Pacific semi-final in Hamilton against the Chiefs on Saturday.
One way or another, according to AAP, Gordon is the frontrunner to take over the captaincy from Reds number eight Harry Wilson, who is the Wallabies’ incumbent skipper after being appointed to the position during last year’s Rugby Championship.
Experienced captain
Gordon is no stranger to the leadership role as he captained the Waratahs at Super Rugby level since 2021.
If he is to skipper his country against the famous touring team, it will represent a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the 31-year-old after he was left out of former Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones’ squad for their disastrous 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign in France.
Gordon was set to leave the Waratahs this year to further his career with Premiership outfit Exeter before Schmidt convinced him to stay in Australia.
He appears to be ticking all the boxes for Schmidt as he was the starting scrum-half in all of the Wallabies’ Tests in 2024 while he is a great communicator who also leads by example.
Wilson has not let the Wallabies down during his stint as the two-time world champion’s captain but Schmidt has a plethora of back-row options to choose from which makes Gordon the safer option to lead the side.
The Reds back-row captained the Wallabies in eight Tests last year after his club-mate Liam Wright was initially appointed by Schmidt as the team’s skipper before sustaining a serious injury.
Wilson, who was also left out of Jones’ squad for the 2023 World Cup, is still in contention for a Wallabies starting berth but will face stiff competition from the likes of Fraser McReight, back-to-back John Eales Medallist Rob Valetini, Carlo Tizzano, Seru Uru, Langi Gleeson, Nick Champion de Crespigny.
Meanwhile, Pete Samu is also set to return to Australia where he will join the Waratahs after helping his current club Bordeaux-Begles to win the Investec Champions Cup recently.
Changed his mind
Gordon was all set to leave Australia to further his career at Exeter but after being persuaded by Schmidt he signed a two-year contract extension with the Waratahs and Rugby Australia at the start of May.
“I have strong confidence in the direction the Waratahs are heading in and I want to continue to work hard to contribute to the success to the team,” said Gordon at the time.
“I felt I had my best year for the Wallabies in 2024 and I’m certainly hoping to continue that progress and put my best foot forward to be part of the major milestones coming up here on home soil in the Lions Series and home Rugby World Cup.”