Rising flyhalf Carter Gordon will be at the forefront of making “Super Rugby look super” again if new Melbourne Rebels coach Kevin Foote has his way.
Foote is excited about the development he has seen in the blond-topped playmaker and his capacity to shake-up the Rebels’ results this season.
Recently 21, Gordon has put on extra weight during the off-season to shed the whip-thin image he had when signed by the Queensland Reds as a schoolboy in 2018.
Fans will get their first taste of what they can look forward to on Thursday night when the Rebels face Fijian Drua in a trial at Harlequin Rugby Club.
“Carter has actually filled out a lot. He’s definitely getting the opportunity at No.10 this season,” Foote said.
“The growth we have seen in him in 12 months has been huge and we are right in behind him to keep that going.”
Gordon was one of the upbeat finds in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman last year when he played five times against Kiwi sides. He stepped up with his passing, his maturity and some excellent tackling.
He topped up that education with regular returns to his home state of Queensland where he added seven games for his club Wests when guiding them to the semi-finals.
Foote said long-time Wallaby Matt Toomua would slot in at inside centre now he has beaten the lingering effects of last season’s bad concussion.
“The medical staff at the Wallabies and Rebels have been very diligent around his return to contact after he picked up that big head knock last year,” Foote said.
“We’ve had a plan and he’s now at full contact, full noise.”
The Johannesburg-born Foote, 42, was an impressionable teen in South Africa in the late 1990s when watching the sparkle of Super 12 rugby in its first few seasons.
He’s never forgotten the trend-setting spectacle that helped inspire his own path in rugby.
“I really want Super Rugby to look super. Growing up and seeing the speed at which it was played and the style, I want to bring it back, especially down to Melbourne,” Foote said.
“I want us to play a style that Melbourne is proud of and make sure the players buy in.”
Foote said his credo was “fast and fearless” which will put an accent on execution and consistency which haven’t always been Rebels’ strong suits.
Two wins over the hapless NSW Waratahs (46-14 and 36-25) were the highlights of 2021 from a poor 3-10 ledger which included a number of close losses.
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Rebels captain Michael Wells said Foote’s accent on enhancing team culture was a plus and winning games wouldn’t rest on breakout Wallabies weapons Andrew Kellaway and Rob Leota having to produce super-human feats.
Kevin has made sure everyone is invested and it’s a really tight knit group,” Wells said.
“He is big on bringing the individual you are to the table to be a weapon. We hope to get everything Kells and Robbie brought in a gold jersey in a Rebels jersey.
“They both had such breakout seasons but just doing their roles well is what we expect from them and every other player.”
