Tahs to target Smith
Foley says Highlander fullback is world’s best and must be shut down
RUGBY UNION: Bernard Foley has hailed Ben Smith as the best fullback in the world, as the Waratahs plan to pepper the All Blacks star with pinpoint kicks in today’s crucial Super Rugby clash.
Despite boasting Israel Folau in his own side, Foley said Highlanders cocaptain Smith was the premier No.15 in the game and his counter-attacking raids would have to be shut down if NSW were to turn around the disaster of last week’s loss to the Crusaders.
“They’re a high-kicking team and they love to play off unstructured possession, off turnovers, so if we’re guilty there, if we kick poorly to them, they’re a team that really likes to counter,” Foley said.
“They’ve got a really dangerous back three. They’ve got probably the world’s best fullback and then (Waisake) Naholo is pretty dangerous on the wing as well.”
Folau and Smith will go head-tohead at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium in an aerial battle and likely reprise the rivalry in August when the Wallabies face the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup, although Smith has been shifted to wing to accommodate Jordie Barrett and Damian McKenzie.
Foley will need to steer the Tahs with a precision boot and pressure the Highlanders in their own end.
The five-eighth has come under fire for his form this year, which has been linked to the lack of playmakers pressuring him for the Wallabies’ No.10 jersey, but Foley believes he doesn’t need to rely on rivals breathing down his neck.
“Hopefully not – I like to think I’m intrinsically motivated and the fire burns within,” he said.
“I don’t need that external pressure or motivation to lift me.
“There are enough guys around me who drive me and inspire me to be the best player I can be, so that’s how I try to approach every day –go out there and get the most out of it and be the best player I can be.
“Hopefully that improves my standard.
“The thing about the form, that’s on an individual basis but that’s not what I judge myself on.
“I’m mainly ( judging myself ) on how the team is going and what I can do to help this team and get the outcomes we want.”
Foley missed two pivotal penalty kicks in Christchurch last Saturday as the Crusaders came from 0-29 down to beat NSW 31-29 in the greatest comeback in Super Rugby history.
But with a history of also nailing match-winning goals – the 2014 Super Rugby final and 2015 World Cup quarter-final against Scotland are the most famous – Foley is confident goal-kicking won’t be an ongoing issue.
“What do the fans remember more? Probably the ones you kick,” he said.
“As a kicker I suppose it’s the journey we go on in professional sport, the highs and the lows. It’s that roller-coaster that we’re forever living in between.
“It’s just trying to be consistent in your prep, consistent in your routine, so that under pressure you can go back and do your job.
“When you miss those kicks, it definitely hurts and you feel the added weight, but in saying that, with the respect of the team, I know they’re going to do the job, so they have all the faith in me.”