Reds boss and Wallabies coach-in-waiting Les Kiss has lauded Carter Gordon's return to rugby as a "fantastic" coup for Australia's playmaking stocks - but he won't be making guarantees for the code-hopper.
Gordon, 24, inked a three-year deal with Rugby Australia earlier today that sees the Sunshine Coast product join Wallabies pivot Tom Lynagh and rising star Harry McLaughlin-Phillips on the books at Ballymore.
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Gordon's return is effective immediately and sees him named alongside Tane Edmed as Joe Schmidt's playmakers for the Wallabies' Spring Tour of Japan and Europe.
Speaking with reporters in Brisbane on Monday, Kiss backed Gordon to thrive under Schmidt in his comeback from rugby league and in a Queensland jersey.
"To tell you the truth, it's been an absolutely rapid, probably [the last] four or five days," Kiss told reporters in Brisbane on Monday.
"I think there was always something in Carter's mind that he'd like to come back one day, but from my perspective, this just accelerated in the last four or five days.
"It was a combined thing in terms of RA and Queensland, just getting it to a point to make things work.
"I wasn't involved in that whole process, but as you can imagine, we're very happy to have Carter coming back to the Reds … [we] recognised him as a seven-year-old, I think as a school kid, we saw the potential there, and it's fantastic that he's coming back home.
"There's obviously an opportunity here, isn't there, to get into rugby straight away, so that's important, getting him into the mix straight away.
"I think the environment that he's going to be moving into straight away is pretty ideal, and don't forget, I'm not speaking on behalf of Joe here, but we've got Tane Edmed there, and we've also got James O'Connor over in the English Premiership that he can call on as well."
Kiss was quick to highlight Gordon's physical attributes in the 10 jersey, describing the 2023 World Cup Wallaby as a "natural athlete".
However, the Reds coach was equally quick to throw his support behind Lynagh and McLaughlin-Phillips, both of whom are signed with Queensland through 2026.
"He's excited, as you could imagine, and really looking forward to getting back into it and working hard - there's no entitlement there," Kiss said of Gordon.
"He just feels he wants to get back and work hard and learn his way, that's for sure.
"The one thing about Carter is he's got a good size about him - he's got a good height, he's robust, he's physical, and he meets all those things to be able to play what is now a very, very challenging position in the game.
"Tens are targeted a lot, and he [Gordon] gives us another quality option to be able to play in that position and balance out how we want to play our game.
"If you look at all our tens, they give something different, and that's a real plus for us as well, and they can all play 12, and they can all play 15, which is fantastic.
"One thing you know about Harry, he's a competitor and he's young and learning at a rate of knots as well, so he'll take this on in a positive way, and we've already spoken, and he knows that the challenge is there.
"He didn't feel entitled to anything beforehand, Harry, so he just wants to fight hard and earn his position as well."
Kiss also provided an update on Lynagh's road to recovery after the playmaker's injury-forced omission from Australia's Spring Tour squad.
"He's going well, he's actually got a hamstring issue that's just hanging on, and that's the main reason, or the reason that he hasn't been able to get out there and train and play," Kiss said.
"So he hasn't had a lot of volume in running, a lot of volume getting over a ball, hasn't had a lot of volume in his kicking, so we've got an opportunity in the next two weeks to just work on that.
"We've got a plan that we're putting together with RA to make sure that we get that right. He'll have a leave period, and then he'll have a full pre-season with us, and I think that'll be good for him as well.
"It's an opportunity as well as anything for him to get right."
