Michael Hooper urges Wallabies playmaker to reject NRL advances and join Waratahs
Rebels playmaker Carter Gordon and former Wallabies and Waratahs captain Michael Hooper.
Former Waratahs captain Michael Hooper is keen for Rebels fly-half Carter Gordon to join his former team and urged the playmaker to move to the Sydney-based outfit.
Rugby Australia announced last week that they had taken the decision to axe the Rebels from Super Rugby Pacific, a decision which has led to all of the remaining teams in the country showing interest in snapping up players from the Melbourne outfit.
The Waratahs currently have Tane Edmed and Jack Bowen on their books as their preferred fly-halves but, although both players have displayed plenty of promise, it has not shown in the Sydneysiders’ results as they finished at the bottom of the standings at the end of?Super Rugby Pacific‘s regular season.
Right player for the Waratahs
And Hooper, who joined Australia’s sevens programme in a bid to make their team for this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, believes Gordon?is the right player to help the Waratahs on their road to recovery.
Gordon is in the final year of his current contract with the Rebels and Rugby Australia, and was linked with a cross-code switch after reportedly holding talks with NRL outfit the Gold Coast Titans earlier this year.
But Hooper is adamant the 23-year-old would fit in perfectly at the Waratahs.
“I’d love to see Carter Gordon come to NSW (New South Wales),” the Wallabies legend said on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts. “I think he would be a really good person to have there.
“I think he’s got so much growth in him. But he’s had some really beautiful touches already in his career. He’s got to get his goal kicking a bit up to standard.”
Former Wallabies, Waratahs and Western Force outside back Cameron Shepherd echoed Hooper’s sentiments, saying Gordon would do well should he make the move to Sydney.
‘He’s got huge potential’
“He’s a great player and he’s probably one of the most experienced 10s we’ve got at the moment. He’s got huge potential,” Shepherd said on Stan Sport’s Rugby Heaven.
“We’ve certainly seen flashes of it in the Melbourne Rebels jersey and in a Wallaby jersey. However, I just think Australian rugby needs to be a little bit careful about manipulating these movements too much.
“You’ve got to remember this is a job as well as a passion for these guys. And you’re also talking about their homes, for individuals and maybe homes for their families. So it’s a difficult situation, that a lot of these Rebels players are going to face and RA in particular.”
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