Legendary All Blacks outside back Jeff Wilson believes Will Jordan should be New Zealand’s first choice full-back during their upcoming international campaign.
Super Rugby Pacific kicked off this past weekend and there was plenty of talk after Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie were selected to start at fullback for the Blues and Chiefs respectively in their highly anticipated New Zealand derby at Eden Park on Saturday.
That clash was a repeat of last year’s Super Rugby Pacific final and Barrett and McKenzie are two of New Zealand‘s leading playmakers, who were the two players who were All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson’s preferred choices for the All Blacks fly-half position during the 2024 Test campaign.
Barrett showed some nice touches during the first half at full-back in Saturday’s clash in Auckland while McKenzie was relatively quiet but came alive when he was shifted to fly-half and eventually guided the Chiefs to a 25-14 victory.
Jordan shines upon Crusaders return
Meanwhile, Jordan – who has scored a whopping 38 tries in 41 Test appearances – had made an impressive return to Super Rugby Pacific action with the Crusaders in their 33-25 triumph over the Hurricanes in Christchurch on Friday.
This, after he missed the Crusaders’ entire 2024 campaign due to a shoulder injury.
Jordan eventually returned to action on the wing for the All Blacks – where he has played most of his Test rugby – before being selected at full-back for the Rugby Championship Test against the Springboks in Cape Town and he was his country’s first-choice number 15 for the rest of the year.
And Wilson, who represented New Zealand in 60 Tests on the wing and at fullback between 1993 and 2001, feels the 26-year-old is the right man to wear the All Blacks’ number 15 jersey in 2025.
“I’m going to show you now who the All Black fullback is. I’m going to show you who the All Black fullback is. And he was at fullback for the Crusaders,” he said on The Breakdown while showing clips on a big screen of Jordan in action for the Crusaders in Friday’s win over the Hurricanes.
‘He’s a creator’
“And Will Jordan, when he’s playing in that jersey, he’s not just a guy who scores tries. What he is, is he’s a creator. He’s a guy who gets himself in position.
“He helps out other players.”
Wilson feels that despite all the recent hype about Barrett and McKenzie and their ability to shine at fullback, he feels neither of them are better than Jordan in that position.
“He’s an All Black fullback. I don’t care about Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie,” he said. “You play them whenever you like, but Will Jordan, for me, he starts in the 15 jersey for the All Blacks.”
Fellow All Blacks legend Justin Marshall, who played 81 Tests as a scrum-half for New Zealand between 1995 and 2005, agreed with Wilson’s sentiments.
“You won’t get any arguments out of me. I’ve always said that,” he said.
“I felt that he was underutilised on the wing. (Ex-All Blacks coach Ian) Foster was making exceptions because he wanted to try and get McKenzie and Beauden Barrett and Will Jordan on the field all at the same time. Or Richie Mo’unga.
“Whichever way around it would be. And he was compensated because of that. He is a fullback.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/all-blacks-legend-gives-blunt-verdict-on-who-should-start-at-fullback-for-new-zealand
