Folau smiles at the ease of it all as he crosses for try no.2 on debut

by Paul Cook in Melbourne –

“I told you he was dangerous.”

British & Irish Lions assistant coach Andy Farrell

No matter which side of the fence you were sitting on for last Saturday’s first test, there was one thing that everyone could agree on, they’d just witnessed one of the finest international debuts in recent memory. Whether you were a ‘pith helmeted’ Wallaby fan drowning your sorrows on Caxton Street or one of the massed hordes in red simply carrying on the festivities you started several hours earlier, the one name on everyone’s lips was Israel Folau.

Two dazzling tries and a try saving tackle in the first half have woken the world up to what Australian fans have known for some time, that they possess a unique talent, one that is still in it’s infancy in terms of rugby union but one that has the potential to be anything it wants to be. If he stays in the game that is.

The irony behind all the hyperbole surrounding Folau’s sizzling start in the green and gold is that he may not even be in the sport this time next year. With only a few months left to run on his one year deal with the NSW Waratahs and potential rugby league suitors already aplenty circling the wagons, this Lions series could prove to be the mightiest and most tragic of all sporting cameos by equal measure.

Still only 24-years-old, the 6ft 5in excitement machine has already packed more into his seven years as a professional athlete than the vast majority will come close to achieving in a lifetime. Starting off in rugby league with the Melbourne Storm at age 17, Folau crossed 21 times in his debut season, going on to become the youngest Australian to represent the national side, the Kangaroos, back in 2008 (again, bagging two tries on debut). By the time he switched codes to Australian Rules Football in 2010, he had won two State of Origin series with Queensland, played seven times for his country and finished with a professional tally of 83 tries in 103 matches.

Folau’s double made it 10 tries in 15 matches in his adopted code – Photo: Djuro Sen / Image Matrix

The leap to Aussie Rules was an odd one, but his use as a marketing tool alone for newly created side, the Great Western Sydney Giants, was worth his hefty signature. However, despite his undoubted athletic abilities, his two years trying to master a Sherrin proved beyond even him, it was just too different a game, although his coach at the Giants, Kevin Sheedy, was adamant last week that Folau would have been a success eventually. “His best game of AFL was his last one for GWS, in two years he would have made it as an AFL player.”

His switch to a third code back in December of last year was viewed with equal amounts of suspicion and excitement. Everyone knew that the boy could play and that with ball in hand, be it league or union, he undoubtedly knew where the line was, but would his defence hold up? Would he be able to read the game and understand the complexities and discipline of the contact area? Could he make those subtle adjustments unique to the sport, particularly when he was coming from a game in Aussie Rules that has an alien skill set and a differing body shape to that which he requires in rugby?

Six months later, we have our answers. After looking out of his depth at times in his first few games with the Waratahs, his progression has been seismic, his confidence boosted by coach Michael Cheika’s decision to groom him from fullback. Before going into camp with the Wallabies, Folau sat proudly on top of the Super Rugby try scorer’s list with 8 from 14 games. He now has a double next to his name for his second national side.

Wallaby coach Robbie Deans gave his take on his starman’s success. “I guess when you’re as well equipped as he is, he has a lot of confidence in his ability to do the things that he does. He’s got a real physical stature so he’s not intimidated, he’s got fast feet, he’s quick and he’s got a great offload so, when you’ve got that sort of capacity to play, that tends to slow the game down and close the defence down because they’re conscious of all the options and he’s very good at taking the options. He’s a talent, we need to bring him into the game.”

That was an admittance that the Wallabies failed to use their new weapon enough in the second half but credit for that too must go to an improved defensive effort from the Lions, who shut down Folau’s space and starved his supply line. It is something they will need to perfect for another 160 minutes if they wish to leave these shores with their first series win since 1997.

As well as his two tries, Folau also found time to prevent this certain score from George North too

Cue Andy Farrell, himself a rugby league convert with a star pedigree. “He’s some talent, he’s got brilliant feet and he’s very good in the air. He’s a threat, same as they’ve got a threat all over the field. I thought second half we defended pretty well when we trusted the systems but we just know that this Australian team is going to be a threat for the full eighty and you can’t switch off for a second.”

Farrell may well be in for a few sleepless nights this week as he tries to concoct a game plan to halt the latest cross-code success story. Folau – a quiet, humble and deeply religious young man – allowed himself the tiniest pat on the back after the game but it was very much a case of ‘we before I’.

“Personally, I’m very stoked and happy with the way things have turned out,” he beamed. “It’s great to get over the line and score a couple of tries on my first time in the gold jersey but I’m obviously disappointed with the result. We’ve just got to move on now and try and get the win next week.”

The good news for rugby fans everywhere was that he rated his Lions experience as the greatest of his sporting life. Given his appearances in State of Origin – Australia’s most passionate and fiercely contested sporting contest between the best rugby league players from New South Wales and Queensland A couple more nights like that – especially if he ends up on the winning side – maybe the carrot to entice him to set down some deeper roots in his new code.

“Tonight was a great atmosphere and something that I’ve never experienced before,” he admitted “it was awesome and I look forward to next week. I’ve got to say, it’s on another level [from State of Origin] with the fans that the Lions bring over, they’re very passionate and they make a lot of noise throughout the game and it’s something I’ll always remember. The main thing for me is that I’m really enjoying it and hopefully, over the next few weeks we’ll see how we go.”

Keep those fingers crossed everybody…