Freakish Folau is set to make an impression at maiden World Cup
SYDNEY: Israel Folau has always made a big first impression and only the foolhardy would bet against him doing so again later this month when he makes his Rugby World Cup debut for Australia.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has chopped and changed his starting side this year, but there is little doubt Folau will occupy the No 15 shirt against Fiji on September 23.
Eighteen tries in 33 tests make him the most potent weapon in the Wallabies backline and until he was rested from the match against the United States last week, he had played in every test since he won his first cap in June 2013.
British and Irish Lions fans will need no reminding of his test debut in Brisbane. With his second touch of the ball he scooped up Will Genia’s grubber kick to score his maiden test try, adding a second by scything through three defenders after halftime.
It was a start, albeit in a los- ing effort, that echoed his explosive entry into rugby league as a 17-year-old, when he scored the winning try in the dying seconds of his Melbourne Storm debut.
His freakish athleticism alone was not enough to conquer the indigenous code, however, and at the end of 2012 he snubbed a string of rugby league suitors to join the New South Wales Waratahs.
That brought him together with Cheika, who oversaw Folau’s transition into the 15man game as first a wing, and then at fullback.
Almost inevitably, he picked up a couple of tries in his firstever game of union and by the end of 2013 had equalled fellow former league international Lote Tuqiri’s record season tally of 10 tries for Australia.
Tighter marking followed as opponents woke up to his threat, but he still managed six tries in his second season with a struggling Wallabies side and a record 12 as the Waratahs won a first Super Rugby title.
Folau has pace and power to burn, while his ability to augment his height with a leap that many a basketball player would envy makes wise opponents think twice before kicking the high ball to him.
Last month, he became the first player to win back-to-back John Eales medals as Australia’s Player of the Year and more accolades will be his due if he can help the Wallabies out of a first round pool that also includes England and Wales. – Reuters