PARIS (AP) — Will Jordan would be content not scoring a try in the Rugby World Cup final as long as New Zealand wins it.
Jordan's hat trick in the 44-6 semifinal win against Argentina on Friday gave him a tournament-leading eight tries, and put him in the company of greatness.
Nobody has scored more than eight tries in a single tournament; the only others to score eight were Jonah Lomu in 1995, Bryan Habana in 2007 and Julian Savea in 2015. If, as expected, Jordan lines up for the All Blacks in the final next weekend, he will have a chance to own the record outright.
“The World Cup win is what we all came over here to do,” Jordan said on Saturday. “I will be perfectly happy to take a zero on the scoresheet if it means we get the job done. It's a team game and the group is really focused at the moment around what we want to do. Hopefully I can play my part in that.”
He played his part on Friday with the opening try, a walk-in from a Richie Mo'unga double miss-out pass. His second was another walk-in, after fellow wing Mark Tele’a dragged in four defenders. But the hat-trick try was a set-piece beauty from a lineout on halfway. He took an inside pass from Ardie Savea — younger brother of Julian — while motoring into a gap. He chipped Emiliano Boffelli and caught it off the bounce and scored.
Jordan could have had a fourth try as he had an overlap but Mo'unga tried to score himself and the move died. Mo'unga waved an apology and Jordan wasn't fussed.
“Richie has put me over for that many tries over the course of my career, so no issues there,” Jordan said. “I'm just really proud of Richie and the way he is playing, the way he has stood up as a leader and steered us around the park. He was great again last night. He is going good and I'm happy for him to keep backing himself.”
Jordan has had an eventful first Rugby World Cup. He was yellow-carded in the opener against France for tackling an aerial player, scored two tries against Italy — the opener one-handed in a corner from a cross-field kick — two tries against Uruguay, and one against Ireland that was in support of a Mo'unga break from deep. His third career hat trick has him on 31 tries from 30 tests but he said the numbers don't motivate him.
“Not really to be honest. I'm not one to check numbers,” he said. "I've always liked the support play, being in the frame and reading-the-game scenarios. Being able to do that is what I review on and hold my hat to. It's not so much linked to scoring tries because you get a few like last night where you just catch it and dive over.
“It is more about involvements in the game, trying to pop up and give us an extra number in attack. It's always cool to dive over and score tries but it is not the main marker I use around how I'm going.”
On New Zealand's all-time list of test try scorers, Jordan is 13th, tied with Ma'a Nonu.
“Why he is so good at finishing is because he can see the picture early,” All Blacks defense coach Scott McLeod said. "He understands where the space is and where it's going to be and positions himself really well, so when he does get the ball he understands what he has to do.
“Players around him are now starting to read off him as well. They get excited when he gets the ball and he can create something out of nothing so they get ready for that. But if you take the ball to a different part of the field and take all the defenders over there, then try and quickly get it to him because he can pretty much make something out of nothing. That's exciting for us and for him.”
Growing up, the 25-year-old Jordan's favorite All Black was Dan Carter, not a winger but a scorer like one.
“From a back three or wing point of view, guys like Joe Rokocoko, Ben Smith, Jules (Julian Savea), Daggy (Israel Daggy) are all guys I have taken a lot from. It's cool to be able to follow in their footsteps and achieve a few things because certainly the wing position over the years for the ABs has been pretty prolific, with some great players. So it's humbling to be alongside those guys.”
Then there's Lomu, Habana, Savea . . . and Jordan. He's chuffed.
“It is pretty humbling to be honest. When you think about those guys, they were all huge legends of the game and, particularly in the position I play, really trailblazed the way to play the game as a winger. So that's pretty cool.”
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