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27 Jun 2025
On Thursday 19 June, former student Jake Gordon returned to his old primary school alongside new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and three teammates, ahead of the highly anticipated British and Irish Lions tour.
Gordon’s rise to rugby stardom was anything but traditional. A proud product of Stanmore Public School and Sydney Secondary College Blackwattle Bay Campus, he reflected fondly on his early days playing tackle rugby on the school oval, sometimes to the dismay of teachers.
“There were some great memories when I was a young kid here,” Gordon said.
His former teacher, Nigel Hunt, remembered Gordon as a “sensitive kid” who once got upset on camp because he missed his mum, but also described him as a “natural athlete” with a spark that stood out from a young age.
Gordon didn’t follow the well-trodden GPS school rugby path, instead forging his own journey through club rugby, eventually signing with Sydney University and working hard for four years before making the top grade. Today, he has 29 Wallabies caps to his name and is firmly in contention for a leadership role in the national squad.
“Coming back here and seeing the smiles on kids’ faces and just kicking a ball around really brings it home,” he said.
Gordon is one of several public school success stories in the Wallabies squad, joining fellow NSW graduate Will Skelton, who captained Australia at the last Rugby World Cup.
His message to students: enjoy the game, trust your journey, and never underestimate where it might take you.
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