Coach Eddie Jones has apparently lost confidence in Carter Gordon, and the Wallabies are planning to make changes before their crucial match against Wales at the Rugby World Cup.
Now that the Wallabies believe they can move to the next stage of the tournament, but their hope is becoming uncertain, Jones’ experiment with the 22-year-old as a playmaker is possibly to end soon.
Coach Jones has continued to support Gordon even though he did not show the best of him in the No. 10 position, starting with a challenging match against the All Blacks at the MCG.
But after the recent big loss to Fiji, things had to change. Gordon was replaced shortly after half-time, and the fans became very loud, asking for change.
Looks like it’s time for a change. You could see it in Jones’ eyes when he started talking about Ben Donaldson’s impressive second-half performance in 10th place after the Fiji test.
Sources familiar with Wallabies squad selection, who spoke on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said Gordon was absent due to a poor performance in Australia’s 22-15 loss to Fiji on Sunday.
“From the starting lineup,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported. “Jones has supported Gordon all year, though appearing to have lost faith in the playmaker ahead of a must-win match for Australia to reach the quarter-finals.
“Donaldson will move from full-back and wear the Wallabies number 15 jersey.
So much for Eddie Jones! Let us move on!
A Strong Georgian Team Has Been Selected for their Upcoming Important Match against Rival Portugal
Georgia’s head coach, Levan Maisashvili, has made eight changes to the starting team that lost 35-15 to Australia. He has now named the new lineup for their upcoming match against Portugal in Toulouse on Saturday.
In the former round, when both teams suffered defeat, 13th-place Georgia and 16th-place Portugal will play against each other.
Maisashvili made four changes to his front group, moving Mikheil Naliashvili and Beka Gigashvili to the front row, Vladimir Chachanidze to the second row, and Beka Saginadze to the back row.
The new pairing of Gela Aprashidze and Ted Abujandadze will result in four changes to the defense, with Alexander Todua playing on the wing and Giorgi Kveseladze playing in midfield.
Sixteen players from Matchday 23 will feature in the 2023 European Rugby Championship final against Portugal, including four of the five try scorers on the day (Akaki Tabudze, Demur Tapradze, Ghulam Papidze, Shalva Mamkashvili).
Akaki Tavtudze is the only Georgian player to have started all nine Tests this season. With ten goals, including two doubles and a hat trick, he is going to be the team’s leading try scorer in 2023.
Gela Aprashidze will make his eighth start from half-time with Ted Abujandadze, but only his second this year, following the 40-8 win over the Netherlands in February.
