Carter Gordon will be thrust into his first rugby Test since the World Cup with the code-hopping flyhalf charged with 'running the show' for the Wallabies in a key international against Italy in Udine.

Coach Joe Schmidt has decided the 24-year-old, back in union business after his spell with the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL, should take the No.10 jersey for Saturday's Test from Tane Edmed, who's benched following Australia's lacklustre 25-7 defeat to England.

Eight-times capped Gordon, who's signed with Rugby Australia and the Queensland Reds through to the end of 2028, had been struggling with a slight quad injury while being reintegrated into the 15-a-side game in training.

But Schmidt says he's ready, swayed by Gordon's own self-confidence in a potential banana skin of a match sevent

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