By his own admission, Israel Folau needs to take the blinkers off. In his Super Rugby debut last Saturday night for the Waratahs, the destructive ball-runner was well contained by the Queensland Reds who rushed up on him before he had a chance to wind up.
Folau admitted on Wednesday that his scrappy display at fullback – that included some fumbles and poor positioning in defence – had taught him a lesson in his newest code.
That is, he can’t rely solely on his damaging running game that made him an Australian rugby league international at the age of 18 and that passing and kicking options can no longer be an afterthought.
He will look to utilise the kicking skills he allegedly learnt during his ill-fated AFL career and also add subtlety with a passing game – as early as Friday night against the Melbourne Rebels.
“The Reds put a lot of pressure on me,” Folau said after training.
“I learnt a lot from that game.
“I’ve just got to mix up my game with passing and other things instead of just trying to take things on on my own.
“I feel like there’s definitely a lot more space playing rugby but I’ve just got to weigh up my options a lot better.”
Folau said he needs to kick his habit of tucking the ball under his arm and looking to puncture the defence, although he will continue to back himself if the time is right.
“My first instinct is to take the line on with my attack,” he said.
“If the opportunity is there to kick I’ll take it. I’ve got to mix up my game.
“But I’ll back myself in taking the ball back as well.
“I was pretty disappointed about my personal performance (against the Reds).
“But now that’s done and dusted and I’m looking forward to this week.”
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika said there was no temptation to move Folau to the wing for the Rebels match.
“He himself would say he was only at half tilt compared to what he can do,” said Cheika.
“He still beat a lot of defenders but not in the areas that we wanted to.
“He’s a consummate pro so I’m sure he’ll bounce back.”
Folau will be hoping to replicate his performance against the Rebels in a trial match in Hobart earlier this month.
With Wallabies coach Robbie Deans on hand, the 23-year-old crossed for two tries and off-loaded for another after turning down NRL suitors to play rugby union.
thomascrown
Guest
Give him a break for goodness sake, its his first real game of 1st grade rugby. Richie Mccaw didnt become the player he is after his debut.
mania
Guest
sailor was done for cocaine, so tough. not sports enhancing but u know how authorities get with bringing the game into disrepute. sure sailor was getting better but i still didnt think he deserved to be in the wb's. the only reason he made it automatically was because of how much his contract was for.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
ScrumJunkie then why couldn't he have moved over when he was younger? Why did he put rugby last in his list of priorities and only make the cross-over near the end of his career? I do agree with you though that it was insanity to ban a player you've sunk 100s of thousands of dollars into one year before a World Cup! Who knows what difference it might have made because as you say he was coming good. Same with letting Rogers go which was ridiculous. If they were going to let them go it should have been after the World Cup, not one year before.
ScrumJunkie
Guest
Agree, he's too good a player not to improve, it was only his first game of profesional rugby. I'd expect him to play better in his second game, then better again in his third and so on. It must be hard learning a new position, in a new game, when you know there are a lot of people watching deperate to see you fail. I hope he pulls it off despite the pressure.
ScrumJunkie
Guest
I always think people are a bit harsh on Sailor, when he first came across I thought it was ridiculous, and wasn't shy about expressing it. He won me over however and I thought he was really coming good, just as he got banned.
Malo
Guest
Folaus performance was a bit like a nervous actor going on the stage for the first time, a bit nervy and unsure about himself or his lines, but in time will know the lines off by heart and deliver a cracking performance that the supporters will be yelling encore encore. It will be sooner than you think. Get a bit more mongrel in ya Izzy.
Toa
Guest
Hmmm I got a feeling he'll turn things around this week.... yea I reckon will see a couple of meat-pies this week although I'm still not convince on his defence & fitness....yep Folua with a much improve performance.
AussiKiwi
Guest
Agreed, and that's why I am concerned about how he will go at the Highlanders, too many mistakes and penalties given away last season.
Jerry
Guest
He was better than Nonu last year (but Nonu was out of form) It's not like Nonu is Mr Dependable,
The Battered Slav
Guest
Watching Jerry get his hands on anyone was a treat mania, a treat that I sorely miss. is he still getting around in Euro rugby or Japan, or has he retired?
Strap
Guest
Charles Piutau from the Blues is everything Izzy should be but much better than Izzy will ever be.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Interesting mania and Kpm. I have the impression Though that the quick guys in rugby are much smaller as we need guys who are very quick over 10 to 40m rather than over 100m. That's why we have had a few speedsters who were fairly small over the years. Clerc, Howlett and now Mvovo, Basson or evn Davies or Turner aren't huge at all. But looking at IF body type, I think he needs to be bigger and bulkier to reach his top speed. Will be interesting to see if he does improve as the season goes.
mania
Guest
yeah all the sprinters are massive but usain looks like a panther in comparison yeah 0.5 sec is a huge amount to shave off but folau should just be aiming to get back to his NRL speed.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
mania but look at a top sprinting line up in both upper and lower body and they're all massive. Plus half a second is a huge change in speed at a high level of sport.
mania
Guest
upper body strength decides your acceleration. top speed however is your legs. u can beef your legs up in the gym but it wont give u more speed. the most u can shave off a 100m sprint with intense training is half a sec at the most. most people cant achieve this and most anyone might shave off is 0.1 of a sec. folau just needs to hit the road more and do some sprint training. i'm anti gym training as its only ever any good if u play against a set of barbells/dumbells. ...and usain bolt is buff.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
nos I don't really know all that works, but I wonder if you don't need more muscle to hit top speeds? Obviously too much can slow a player down and that's what gets talked about (i.e. Tuqiri towards the end), but maybe quite a lot is still needed to be fast. When you look at sprinters unless they have unusual body types like Bolt they are normally colossally beefed up with muscle. Presumably now he's slowly rebuilding the bulk he used to have from his AFL days but I wonder why it's taking so long or whether it's a conscious choice from Cheika that he should be lighter. There's supposedly such a thing as muscle memory and given how long Folau must now have been lifting heavy weights since he left the AFL it's suprising he's still so slender.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
TBS sure, I don't mean they should go chasing them around or paying through the nose. It's more just a shame that rugby doesn't attract the big guns the way it used to. Having said that two of those big guns in the noughties were virtually at the end of their careers. Sailor and Rogers moved over way too late to make it their main career, and you have to doubt whether players are as motivated then as when they're younger. I don't think rugby should bring in league converts over 25. They're much less successful. Compare Tahu to Tuqiri: 26 year old to 23 year old. Unless you're just buying a player to fill a Super rugby slot with no thought of international competition, like Saffy, then 25 should be an upper limit. But it would be nice if there were more players like Folau who are attracted to rugby young and not when they're old and think it's just a career after-thought like Sailor/Tahu. Those are the only ones worth having (even then I agree with you they shouldn't have money thrown at them).
Jiggles
Roar Guru
Better than Nonu? I think I'd still pick him I think over $BW who had all the tricks, but could be bullied into submission.
mania
Guest
hey slav - there was an upside tho. guys like jerry collins and troy flavell made it their personal goal to give those converts a close welcome message. watching jerry get his hands on tuqiri and sailor was awesome.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Lets say he is deceptively quick then! Funnily enough Kpm I always thought he was quick when he was in the nrl but in the two rugby games taht i have seen him play so far he didnt seem as quick. Dunno if it's just visual or is just surrounded by faster players though. Coud also be that he is just at a stage in his conditioning where he worked more on endurance rather than speed, dunno.