Beale rated ‘bigger threat’ than Folau by Barrett
The Wallabies will pose more of a threat to New Zealand in Perth tonight with Kurtley Beale at fullback than exiled Wallaby Israel Folau, according to All Blacks star Beauden Barrett.
While there is no doubt Beale has plenty of class and has shown that on the international stage for close to a decade, it is quite the call from Barrett, who also lines up at fullback for the second test in a row following his positional switch from No 10 that the All Blacks are keen to stick with.
Folau scored seven tries from 17 matches against New Zealand between 2013 and 2018 but was only victorious in two of the those fixtures – Sydney in 2015 and Brisbane in 2017.
It is only the second time the Wallabies will be without Folau for an All Blacks test since he debuted in 2013.
He missed the Eden Park Bledisloe Cup match last year due to injury and won’t feature tonight in Perth for the Wallabies after being sacked by Rugby Australia after a independent panel found he breached his contract with a controversial Instagram post.
Instead of training this week, Folau is preparing for the next stage of his court battle against RA and the All Blacks will be privately thrilled they don’t have to do their homework on him.
However, Beale, who came off the bench in Johannesburg during Australia’s loss to South Africa, was terrific at the back in Brisbane in a fourpoint Wallabies win.
Beale has been named at No 15 for the must-win clash at Optus Stadium and Barrett went so far as saying he could be more dangerous than Folau.
‘‘Kurtley is a very exciting player and he is so unpredictable,’’ Barrett said. ‘‘I think they certainly don’t lose anything by having Kurtley there and if anything, it’s probably more threatening.
‘‘We’re all aware of Israel Folau’s capabilities and the strength that he has from a physical point of view.’’
It comes as another All Blacks veteran in Ben Smith said earlier in the week Beale’s X-factor could be decisive in Perth, the first time they have met since October last year in Yokohama.
‘‘He [Folau] is a world-class player . . . but Kurtley Beale has got that same X-factor and he’s a quality player too,’’ Smith said. ‘‘Kurtley Beale is pretty dangerous. He has a good sidestep.’’
Barrett was moved to fullback from his regular position of No 10 in New Zealand’s 16-16 draw with the Springboks in a bid to get he and fiveeighth Richie Mo’unga in the same starting XV.
The pair struggled to gel against the Springboks but the overall assessment from the coaches was that it worked reasonably well and would be worth continuing, as evidenced by coach Steve Hansen’s selections this week.
‘‘I’m really happy to be at the back and contribute where I can for this team,’’ Barrett said. ‘‘We want to work better together and I think having one game under out belt we’ve learnt a lot from that.
‘‘At times we were perhaps in each other’s pockets but if we’re on the same page it’ll work best for the team.’’
Hansen has retained captain Kieran Read at No 8 despite speculation he would shift to the side of the scrum. Ardie Savea was named at No 6 and Sam Cane No 7.
The Wallabies will be without champion back-rower David Pocock, who is still recovering from a calf injury.
However, Hansen still expects the Wallabies to be a tough proposition despite being ranked sixth in the world and having won two of their last 22 tests against the All Blacks.
‘‘They have got a lot of talent and do not necessarily get the credit for what they do or how they play,’’ Hansen said. ‘‘If you look at our last 10 years they’ve been the one team that have been able to beat us or drawn with us.
‘‘Sometimes, yes, we’ve beaten them by quite a margin but they’re always tough games.
– Sydney Morning Herald