Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has launched an impassioned defence of young first-five Carter Gordon, backed to wear the No.10 jersey for Saturday afternoon's Bledisloe Cup clash against the All Blacks at Dunedin.
Gordon, 22, struggled in his start against New Zealand last weekend, as Australia fell to a 38-7 defeat.
After impressing in spells for Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby Pacific, Gordon is yet to hit similar heights in test rugby, albeit from a much smaller sample size.
Looking to build for far beyond this year, Jones - in his second stint as Wallabies head coach - is confident Gordon is a player he can build his team around for years to come.
After defeat at Melbourne, Jones insists he has no regrets over playing Gordon in such a key position, but understands why criticism might come the youngster's way.
Questioned over his retention for Saturday afternoon's rematch in Dunedin, Jones doubled down on his belief, and hit out at those taking aim at the youngster.
"I don't think I got it wrong," Jones began. "I'm going to get it right, and the player will get it right.
"To say that a young 10 in his first game, you've got it wrong in selecting him is just a load of rubbish, mate.
"Anyone who asks that question doesn't know anything about rugby.
"If you know anything about rugby, you know 10s need time in the seat. If you know anything about rugby, don't talk to me."
Jones also asserted he won't be overbearing in his support for Gordon either.
Instead, the 63-year-old will support his first-five through the difficult moments, in the knowledge that he will get better with time.
For now, though, Jones will look to protect the 22-year-old from any external pressure from an Australian public demanding results.
"That's not how coaching goes," added Jones. "He's a young guy coming through, he's getting enough instruction from his assistant coaches.
"My job is to give him the confidence to keep going forward. He's going to make more mistakes - I can guarantee that. He'll learn from it.
"When he's played as many tests as Richie Mo'unga or [Damian] McKenzie… he'll cease to make as many mistakes as he makes now.
"We'd love him to have a mistake-free game on Saturday. But the reality is a young guy learning his apprenticeship needs to make the mistakes, learn from it and not listen too much to blokes like you.
"It's my job to make sure he doesn't listen to blokes like you who want to put rubbish in his head."
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