Basic instinct key for fallible Folau

ISRAEL Folau learned a painful lesson to trust his instincts after a half-hearted intercept attempt led to him being skinned for a try by young All Blacks flyer Rieko Ioane.

Folau has opened up on his embarrassing defensive miss as the fullback also said the unfancied Wallabies “have nothing to lose” in the second Test in Dunedin.

Of all the Wallabies’ missed tackles at ANZ Stadium last Saturday, two summed up the defensive meltdown — Samu Kerevi’s cold miss on Ryan Crotty and Folau’s error in let- ting Ioane get around him in the 17th minute.

Kerevi’s was an individual error and Folau’s was a result of a system gone haywire — the Australians had five defenders covering two attackers.

Folau revealed he had been caught out because he was indecisive.

“I was in two minds at the time, I was thinking about the intercept and I came up,” Folau said. “The pass obviously beat me and he finished really well. I got beaten fair and square. He’s a great young talent. It was a good lesson for me to just back my instinct and go with what I was thinking in the first place.”

Folau felt terrible after the try but he quickly put it out of his mind, and later managed to score a try and set up another.

“Straight after he scored I knew it was my bad but I guess with all the years of playing at this level I guess experience has taught me if I make a mistake to move on as quick as I can,” he said. “It comes down to maturity. It’s always a learning experience. I have never had a perfect game.”

Folau believes firmly in the power of positivity and using the tough times as valuable lessons.

“It can get quite frustrating and draining you know, after years and years of not getting a result,” he said.

“But I try to look on the positive side in that if you are not going through challenges, there is no growth.”