Wallabies scrum-half Jake Gordon is set to stay with Australian rugby after his planned move overseas was blocked by the national rugby federation. The New South Wales Waratahs captain had tried to leave his Rugby Australia contract early last year to join French club Perpignan, but his request was denied.
On Friday, Gordon confirmed he is no longer thinking about playing abroad and is focused on his future with the Wallabies and the Waratahs.
“Things have changed a bit since I was last considering going overseas,” Gordon told reporters in Sydney. “I really enjoyed my time with the Wallabies last year, especially working with Joe Schmidt. He helped me a lot at the international level.”
Schmidt brought Gordon back into the Wallabies squad last year after former coach Eddie Jones had left him out. Schmidt recently announced he would stay on as coach until mid-2026 before Les Kiss takes over.
Gordon said he appreciated how Schmidt kept instructions clear and gave him useful feedback.
“He’s someone with a lot of experience, and his record speaks for itself,” said the 31-year-old.
“When you’re in that kind of environment, you want to learn as much as possible. I think he balanced things well—he clearly explained what he expected from us as players and was also a great guy off the field.”
Gordon will play his first game in two months for the Waratahs in their Super Rugby Pacific match against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.
The Waratahs need a win to stay in the race for the top six and a playoff spot. However, they haven’t beaten the Brumbies in Canberra in their last seven games and haven’t won any match outside Sydney this season.
“We haven’t really played as well as we wanted away from home,” said Gordon. “We’ve done well at home, but now we’re really hoping for a big result this weekend.”
