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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Robert Kitson

Let gamechangers Jordan, Pollock and Bielle-Biarrey off the leash to grow game

Will Jordan escapes the clutches of Tommaso Menoncello with a trademark burst of electrifying acceleration
Will Jordan escapes the clutches of Tommaso Menoncello with a trademark burst of electrifying acceleration. Photograph: Grant Down/AFP/Getty Images

By any measure it is a remarkable achievement. While many have fantasised about how it might feel to score a try for the All Blacks, no one in history has now lived that dream more frequently than Will Jordan. At the weekend the New Zealand wing took his tally to 50 tries in only 56 appearances, overhauling Doug Howlett’s all-time national men’s record of 49 in 62 Tests.

Perhaps the biggest compliment to pay Jordan is how relatively easy he makes it all look. Where others blow hot and cold, the 28-year-old glides around like a smooth, top-of-the-range sports car. A devastating little surge of electric acceleration here, exquisite running lines, world-class anticipation, deceptive pace … by the time defenders finally work out what he is doing it is usually too late.

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