Folau vows to keep flying despite suspension
RUGBY UNION: Israel Folau says he will be playing at fullback, nowhere else, in Saturday night’s Bledisloe Cup opener against the All Blacks.
The defiant Wallabies superstar is also vowing to attack the high ball with his customary vigour despite copping a contentious one-match ban earlier this year for an aerial challenge on Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika won’t name his starting side until tomorrow and has gone to great lengths to keep the All Blacks guessing but Folau has all but revealed he’ll be wearing the No.15 jumper at ANZ Stadium.
“Well, I’ve been training at fullback. I haven’t been training anywhere else so hopefully, yeah,” he said.
“But whatever decisions that ‘Cheik’ makes, it’s best for the team, but I don’t see myself playing any other position other than 15.”
Asked about his one-game suspension for making mid-air contact with O’Mahoney during Australia’s last Test match, a series-deciding 20-16 loss to Ireland in June, Folau said: “I won’t modify anything.
“After the incident in June, going back to Super rugby I approached the game the same way as any other game.
“For me it doesn’t change anything.
“I’ll have the same mindset in attacking the ball in the air and obviously making good decisions around that.”
Despite failing on appeal to have his ban overturned and believing the laws around aerial challenges remain too grey, Folau believes his technique is “fair play”.
“I’ll attack the ball at every opportunity I get to try and win possession for the team, so that mindset won’t change,” he said.
While he’s expected to resign with the Waratahs until at least after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Folau is off contract at the end of the year, meaning his sixth Bledisloe Cup series could be his last crack at helping the Wallabies regain transTasman bragging rights.
The 29-year-old is making no secret of his burning desire to add the prized piece of silverware to his 2013 Super Rugby triumph with NSW, an NRL grand final victory with Melbourne in 2007 and, in rugby league, three straight State of Origin series wins with Queensland from 2008.
“It’s not rocket science that you definitely want to win it,” Folau said.
“Off the back of last year, I thought we built a really good foundation within our team internally.
“We came so close in the second game and we managed to get the win in the third one, which was a good finish.
“But I think that was just a good taste of the potential that the team can fulfil.”