Jake Gordon’s path to rugby stardom and a coveted match-up against the touring British and Irish Lions was anything but run of the mill.

The former Stanmore Public School and Sydney Secondary College Blackwattle Bay Campus student is the first to admit his time at school wasn’t always smooth sailing.

“I recall the oval here, playing tackle rugby and the teachers yelling at me,” he said with a laugh on returning to Stanmore Public School.

“But there were some great memories when I was a young kid here.”

Almost two decades on, Gordon was back at Stanmore with new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and three of his Australian teammates ahead of the highly anticipated Lions tour starting at the end of the month.

Now the NSW state captain, Gordon is very much also in the mix to lead the Australian team this season.

That may have seemed like out of reach for a kid who didn’t come through the traditional rugby pathway of GPS schools, let alone one that perhaps didn’t always see himself as a leader.

But after a lot of reflection, Gordon said he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“You see a lot of guys come out of the (GPS) system and do really well, but I always say to guys when I reflect back to when I was younger, you want to enjoy the journey and you want to enjoy the sport,” he said.

“A lot of guys get caught up in these teams at such a young age. I just enjoyed playing rugby and met some really good people.”

“Coming back here and seeing the smiles on kids’ faces and just kicking a ball around really brings that home.”

His former teacher Nigel Hunt also recalled a “sensitive kid” who shed a few tears on a school camp because he missed his mum but also a “natural athlete” who could do anything with a ball.

“Basically, you know, any sporting opportunity he was there, and just you could just see there's something special about him,” he said.

Those skills took a while to manifest as Gordon played footy in and out of school before eventually signing for the Sydney University club where he’d wait four years to make the top grade.

A slow burn it may have been, but he’s since gone on to register 29 Wallabies caps and seems very content with his journey.

Gordon is joined in the Wallabies squad by another NSW public school high achiever - towering forward Will Skelton, a product of Hills Sports High School who was named captain of the last Wallabies at the last World Cup.