Folau victim of opposition’s gamble
THE Wallabies say World Rugby must address the oneman lift at kick-offs after Israel Folau was cited for a dangerous play on Irish skipper Peter O’Mahony, but not the incident he was yellow-carded for.
Folau will have to face a disciplinary hearing in coming days after being cited for the ninth-minute incident, one of three times Folau competed against O’Mahony in the air at a kick-off, the third of which saw him sin-binned after the flanker landed on his head in the 31st minute and was ruled out for the remainder of the match with concussion.
Attention has turned, however, to O’Mahony’s teammate CJ Stander, who was lifting his captain solo and failed to provide a controlled landing for him as Folau successfully tapped the ball back each time.
“The player needs to be protected, but that one with a single lift, they’re putting their own player in danger there and they’re doing that so they can cover space somewhere else,” Folau’s teammate Dane Haylett-Petty said.
“They’re encouraging teams to do that now if they’re going to protect them so heavily. Every single one of those, Izzy’s got eyes for the ball, it’s a fair contest, they’re at the same level … You saw he (O’Mahony) fell heavily. It really encourages teams to do that if they’re going to protect them so heavily.”
The Wallabies regularly kick off to Folau, who is the world’s best jumper, to regain possession. Haylett-Petty believes every team will now combat this by having oneman lifters instead of the usual two, banking on any contact Folau may make with them resulting in a penalty should they fall awkwardly.