Wallabies scrumhalf Jake Gordon is pleased to put his hamstring struggles behind him ahead of next week's Bledisloe Cup opener.
The NSW Waratahs captain was named as part of the Wallabies' squad to face the All Blacks in Auckland and Perth, beginning on September 27.
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The 32-year-old has battled hamstring complaints throughout the Test season, missing the win over Fiji in Newcastle before re-aggravating the injury before the final British & Irish Lions Test in Sydney.
Gordon watched on as the Wallabies went on to produce special wins over South Africa and Argentina and told reporters he was itching to pull on the gold jersey again.
"I'm obviously excited. The hamstring took, I wouldn't say longer than expected, but it was obviously a little bit of a niggle coming back from it," Gordon said.
"I've been training out of RA [Rugby Australia] with a few guys in and out and to see some of the performances the team has put together has been pleasing. It's bittersweet, you'd love to be a part of it but it's been great to watch them build and play some really good performances.
"...The rehab team at Rugby Australia has been great with me and is making sure I hit all my markers and my strength work is ready to go. We haven't rushed back, and I feel like I'm now in a pretty good shape to firstly be able to train and hopefully compete."
Gordon's absence led to Nic White's brief retirement reversal to begin the Rugby Championship, with the Western Force veteran excelling in his delayed swansong.
"'Whitey' had told the team that it was going to be his last game and then he told me Mel wasn't too happy with me originally after because he was going to be spending a little bit of time at home with the kids," Gordon said with a smile.
"I thought the way Whitey's played, he's played incredible. I actually thought he was going to play for a little bit longer, I wasn't too sure. He played really well, and Tate's been playing great off the bench. To have the ability to have [Ryan] Lonegan there as well, who has been playing well for a really long time. Like I said, it was great to watch.
"I've watched these last few games and been super impressed by the way not just the halfbacks have been playing but the whole squad."
Gordon could find himself starting alongside James O'Connor, who will make the mad dash back from England after linking up with his new side Leicester Tigers ahead of next week's Premiership opener.
"James' played rugby for a long time and I don't think it's his first time doing decent travel into a big game," he added.
"Guys have to go over and play big games all the time after travel. I don't know exactly when James will be touching down or any of the stuff like that, but he's a seasoned professional.
"I know he will do everything in his control to get his body right so he'll perform if he's chosen that first game."
