Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News
· collected 2026-09-07 · by Jonathan Drennan
Rugby Australia playmaker Carter Gordon has suffered a potentially serious injury in Saturday's draw against Argentina, with sources fearing he may have broken a bone in his right leg. The incident occurred after 68 minutes of play and Gordon received a scan in Mendoza. The Wallabies are set to face South Africa on September 27 in Perth without Gordon, who is likely to be replaced by Declan Meredith. This article reports on the injury blow to Gordon's team, the Wallabies, ahead of their upcoming Tests against South Africa and New Zealand.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Carter Gordon, a key player for the Wallabies, has suffered a leg injury in Saturday's draw against Argentina in Mendoza, and is likely to miss upcoming Tests against South Africa on September 27 in Perth and New Zealand. According to sources, Gordon may have broken a bone in his right leg, but this has not been officially confirmed by Rugby Australia yet. This injury is part of a long string of injuries that Gordon has experienced since returning to rugby last October after playing for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. The Wallabies are already preparing for Gordon's absence, with Declan Meredith set to cover him against South Africa.
Written for “Australian Rugby Injury Woes” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 6569 · logged 2026-09-07
The Wallabies are set to be without Carter Gordon for the upcoming Tests against South Africa and New Zealand after the Reds playmaker suffered a leg injury in Saturday’s draw against Argentina in Mendoza.
asserted
playmaker → set → Mendoza
According to informed sources speaking on condition of anonymity, it is feared Gordon has broken a bone in his right leg.
uncertain
Gordon → accord → leg
Rugby Australia are yet to confirm the nature of injury, with the Wallabies due to arrive back in Australia on Monday evening.
asserted
Wallabies → confirm → evening
The five-eighth has had a horror run of injuries since returning to rugby last October after a season in the NRL with the Gold Coast Titans.
asserted
eighth → have → Titans
Gordon was previously hospitalised with a spinal fluid leak while at the Titans and recently battled calf injuries before returning to play four Tests this season.
asserted
Gordon → hospitalise → Tests
The Wallabies take on South Africa on September 27 in Perth, with Brumbies playmaker Declan Meredith the likely cover for Gordon.
asserted
Meredith → take → Gordon
Tom Lynagh is set to start for the Reds against the Force in Super AUS this Saturday in Ballymore.
asserted
Lynagh → set → Ballymore
Force recruit James O’Connor is unlikely to play in that match, but teammate Harry McLaughlin-Phillips could be in contention to make his Wallabies debut against South Africa after being called into the squad ahead of the Italy Test in July.
uncertain
Phillips → play → July
Gordon received a scan in Mendoza after the drawn Test and the initial suspicion was that the playmaker had sustained a fracture to his lower leg after a glancing blow in contact after 68 minutes.
asserted
playmaker → receive → minutes
Halfback Ryan Lonergan, who finished the game as a makeshift five-eighth due to Gordon’s injury, spoke after the game about a golden opportunity lost for the Wallabies to win back-to-back Tests in Argentina after the Pumas were reduced to 13 men in the late stages.
asserted
Pumas → finish → stages
“I think the initial reaction from everyone was a little bit of disappointment but also kind of recognising that it’s probably a successful tour over here,” Lonergan said.
asserted
Lonergan → think → disappointment
“I think the disappointment probably comes from us knowing that we weren’t at our best today and there are definitely areas that we can tidy up and if we’d done that then we probably would have got the result...
asserted
we → think → result
“I’m sure having three 10s throughout the game is not ideal and especially with the last one being a halfback, but I think we still had our chances there.”
asserted
we → ’m → chances
The Wallabies will face a South African team brimming with confidence after defeating New Zealand by five points in Soweto on Saturday.
asserted
Wallabies → face → Saturday
Rob Valetini was outstanding in a much-improved Wallabies defensive effort against Argentina, with the team making 220 tackles compared to the Pumas’ 110 in Mendoza.
asserted
team → improve → Mendoza
The Brumbies breakaway carried the ball 23 metres and made 19 tackles against the Pumas and believes the Wallabies forward pack have the capacity to take on the Springboks up front in Perth.
asserted
pack → carry → Perth
“I guess we’re trying to build something here within the group and I guess we’re just really focused on building the team connection,” Valetini said.
asserted
Valetini → guess → connection
“I think we’re not looking too far ahead; we’re just really happy with the series win here and I think we’re just really keen to get back home to our families.”
asserted
we → think → families
