Will Jordan will return from a long-term injury on Friday when he starts for Tasman against Southland and says of his goal to wear the No.15 jersey for New Zealand: “It’s certainly going to be competitive as it always is with the All Blacks.”
A shoulder issue means Jordan, 26, has not played any rugby since last year’s World Cup final in Paris.
However, he has been named in Scott Robertson’s 36-man Rugby Championship squad and will be in the frame for the first Test against Argentina in Wellington on August 10 providing he gets through Tasman’s pre-season match in Christchurch.
Despite being considered the first-choice fullback during Robertson's latter years at the Crusaders, Jordan has played the majority of his 31 Tests on the right wing, but he is set to challenge Stephen Perofeta and Beauden Barrett for his favourite position in the black jersey.
Assistant coach Scott Hansen this week said Jordan had been selected as a fullback, and the man himself told SENZ radio this morning: “Position-wise, I think I’ve been picked primarily as a fullback but obviously I can play wing as well."
“I’m not 100% what that looks like but it will be good to run around this week, get a few contacts on the shoulder, and go from there.
“Obviously with Beaudy playing well at fullback and with Mark [Tele’a] and Sevu [Reece] and Caleb [Clarke] on the wings – they’re impressive as well. There are three fullbacks in the squad so it’s certainly going to be competitive as it always is with the All Blacks.”
Jordan equalled the World Cup try-scoring record with eight in France last year – his overall Test try strike rate is one try every Test – and he could make his long-awaited return against the Pumas.
Clearly he is one of the best strike weapons in world rugby and the coaches will be eager to get their hands on him as the All Blacks attack lacked fluency this month.
Hansen this week said Jordan was the type of player who didn’t need a lot of game time to be at Test level. “I’m not far away from that level,” Jordan confirmed. “Training with the squad for the last three weeks was a real bonus.”
He said he would likely play 40 or 60 minutes against Southland. “From there it’s a conversation with Razor and Rangi [Leon MacDonald}, who coaches the outside backs, about how they want to bring me back in.”
Jordan said his injury had allowed him to re-focus on his goals this year.
“To be honest, to start off with I probably enjoyed a wee bit of a break from the game. It was a pretty hectic World Cup last year and there was a lot going on. At the start of the year, I took a bit of time to get away a little bit and have a bit of a think about what the next stage of my career might look like.
“What I got out of it was a real desire to get back to the top and chase the next World Cup in 2027. I’m signed until then with NZR. For me it was chance of a re-set and get excited about what the next four years looks like… it’s a new regime with the All Blacks so I’m looking forward to getting back into that.”
The modern Test fullback requires excellence under the high ball as well as a polished kicking game.
Accordingly, Jordan has been working on those aspects, along with his speed and acceleration during his time on the sidelines and said he had been impressed with some of the All Black performances this month.
Robertson’s men won the England series 2-0 before comfortably beating Fiji in San Diego recently.
“I thought our bench in particular was pretty outstanding,” Jordan said. “It’s been a real weapon for the All Blacks over the last couple of years and to see that come back into the game was huge for us.”
Jordan also revealed, in the wake of the Black Ferns Sevens' gold medal triumph this morning, that he had been in talks about representing New Zealand in sevens at the Tokyo Olympics but it didn’t go anywhere.
"I would never say never," Jordan added of a potential shift to sevens. "At this stage, it's not something I'm actively thinking about, but down the track, who knows?
"Olympics is a pretty special event so it would be awesome to be a part of it."
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