Will Jordan, the All Blacks' try-scoring machine who terrorised the Springboks and is aiming to do the same against the Wallabies, is still in a building phase and has plenty of improvement in him yet, says All Blacks coach Ian Foster.
For all of the All Blacks' set piece and physical dominance against the Boks — a repeat of the comprehensive win over Argentina in their first Rugby Championship Test — the form and combination of outside backs Jordan, Mark Telea and Beauden Barrett will be among the most pleasing things for Foster ahead of the World Cup.
And Jordan, the right wing who scored against the world champions at Mt Smart Stadium to take his tally to 22 tries in 22 Tests, and set up several others, including the opener for Aaron Smith, is the sharpest of Foster's strike weapons after a difficult past few months dealing with a migraine issue that kept him out of the November tour and much of this year's Super Rugby season.
Jordan's pace and ability to pop up at the right time created constant problems for the Boks, with Foster saying the right wing would have licence to do the same against the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.
"It would be pretty foolish of me to rein that in," Foster said. "I'd like to think that I designed everything he did but that's his beauty — his ability to sniff stuff out and I think we saw an array of skills that excited us; it wasn't just his speed.
"It was the decision [making] on when to go and pass. It was his first Test back for a while — remember he didn't come on the end of year tour, so he's still building and we're pretty excited about where he's at."
Halfback Aaron Smith, who ran an excellent inside line for his try off Jordan's early break against the Boks, said the Crusaders' work ethic and communication skills were just as important as his line-breaking ability.
"He's an amazing athlete," Smith said. "Obviously I've been on the tail-end of a few of [his performances] in a red and black jersey which is pretty hard to watch… the thing I like most about Will is he does a lot of homework and looks for opportunities and communicates to me things I can help him with.
"We've had a few conversations already about maybe some opportunities against Australia. That's what those good players do — it's instinctive but it's backed by homework. With their talent, they don't need much space."
One of the more intriguing of Foster's decisions, aside from the benching of established players Sam Whitelock and Anton Lienert-Brown as they begin their comebacks, is the continued non-selection of utility Damian McKenzie.
McKenzie started at No.10 against Argentina but didn't feature against South Africa and is missing again this week — Caleb Clarke effectively taking his place on the bench for the last two Tests — but Foster said there was still room for McKenzie in a side featuring Richie Mo'unga and Beauden Barrett.
"There is room for three," Foster said. "We've elected not to do that at the moment. It's no reflection on Damian."
More changes will be expected for the return match against the Wallabies in Dunedin a week on Saturday, with the selectors likely to be keen on playing Blues wing Clarke into some form after a disappointing Super Rugby season.
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