Drive to thrive: Jordan survives pressure test to nail All Blacks’

All Blacks wing tells Marc Hinton he’s lapping up the experiences, good and bad, on an All Blacks tour like no other.

WILL Jordan has learned to cherish his golf on this All Blacks tour ‘‘like no other’’.

It’s a nice escape from the intensity of the rugby week and confines of the hotel, the courses are a veritable treat and the company ideal – competitive as heck, but overflowing with banter.

If there is one thing this 23-year-old try-scoring sensation has learned on his first real tour of note with the All Blacks – this one, over 13 weeks since they left home in mid-August, is as real as it gets – it’s the need to get your head out of the rugby space when you can.

The midweek golf ticks some important boxes for this highly driven, self-motivated young man who is still cementing himself as a regular in the All Blacks lineup. Given it’s a group led very much by backline linchpins Beauden and Jordie Barrett, Anton Lienert Brown and, when he’s around, Aaron Smith, Jordan very much sees himself in good company.

When we speak, just ahead of today’s tour finale at Stade de France, where he lines up on the right wing for his 11th test appearance of the year, and 10th start, he has not long returned from the last of the weekly hits, at Le Golf National, venue of the 2018 Ryder Cup. For the keen 10-handicapper it was another enjoyable haggle.

‘‘We’re all regular golfers,’’ he said. ‘‘The boys take it reasonably seriously, and we always have a wee wager in our fours.

‘‘But at the same time no-one takes it too seriously. It’s nice to have a casual match on a Wednesday that doesn’t have quite as many ramifications as the one at the weekend.’’

And with the Barrett boys leading the charge (Jordie is a scratch golfer; Beauden, who plays off a 4, does most of the ‘‘organisation’’), Jordan said the right mix of fun and healthy competition is invariably struck.

‘‘It’s had two positives for me,’’ notes the Cantab in a chat with Sunday News. ‘‘Just coming into the All Blacks environment, it was good to have that thing outside of rugby that meant on my days off I was able to connect with the likes of the Barretts, Damian [McKenzie], Brad [Weber] and ‘Nuggy’ [Smith].

‘‘It was a good way to get to know different guys in the group, and as a general rule it’s good to get out and have a hit. It doesn’t matter too much how you play, it’s just about getting a mental refresh.’’

Jordan has needed his down times on a tour where he’s been kept pretty busy. After a slightly ‘‘frustrating’’ All Blacks introduction in 2020 (he featured in just two tests as a sub), the freakish try-scorer (17 in 12 tests) has managed a more successful sophomore run.

‘‘It was cool to get a feel for the All Blacks, get to know the guys here and, more from the sidelines, have a look at what test rugby is all about,’’ he said. ‘‘That last game against Argentina (two tries in 15 minutes off the pine) gave me confidence I’d be able to stand up to test rugby if given the chance.’’

That chance has eventuated as he’s popped in and out of the main lineup on the right wing, starting two of the three Bledisloes, a test apiece against Argentina and the Boks, and then all three of the biggies in the north.

It hasn’t been a unilateral success. He was dropped after the first Boks clash, but soon won that spot back, and was showered with praise by coach Ian Foster after a standout performance against Wales.

He described his shaky effort under the high-ball barrage against the Boks in Townsville as an ‘‘eye-opener around how important it is to be on for every game in the black jersey. The way I’ve bounced back from that has been pleasing.’’

Asked what he took from his Boks experience (the All Blacks still scrambled a 19-17 victory), and the defeat last week to Ireland, Jordan’s reply is telling.

‘‘The word pressure gets chucked around a lot in sport, but it isn’t till you get in those occasions that you find out what it’s all about. It was important to go through those big games and have things not go so well, to understand how best to deal with those situations.

‘‘As a group that something we’re trying work out as well.

It’s important we’re not making the same mistakes twice, and that’s in front of our minds this weekend.’’

Jordan talks about the common factors between the Boks and Ireland matches – physicality and line-speed – and different aspects. ‘‘South Africa tested us around their kicking game and applying pressure there; with Ireland it was their ability to hold the ball and force us to make a lot of tackles.

‘‘In those big, tight games, it’s about dealing with that pressure.’’

For Jordan it’s also been enlightening dealing with defeat in an environment as high-end as the All Blacks.

‘‘We all know how much this team means to the country and how much support we’ve got. It hurts when we lose.

‘‘The reviews are tough to go through – they’re really honest, and that’s what it takes to grow from those losses.’’

Jordan is well aware he has a long way to go to become the player he wants to be.

‘‘It’s early days,’’ he shrugs. ‘‘Each game you pick something up, and it’s been cool to have those different experiences. Playing wing is something I haven’t done a lot at franchise level, and I’m still growing my understanding of the position.’’

He has had a lot of success throughout his career, winning a world title with the New Zealand under-20s (in 2017), the provincial crown with Tasman (in 2019) and, of course, Super

‘In terms of shivers down the spine, it’s hard to go past that game [in Cardiff] . . . ’ WILL JORDAN, PICTURED TOUCHING DOWN IN THE PRINCIPALITY STADIUM PHOTOSPORT