NSW say underused Israel Folau will be their weapon but Brumbies still coy on David Pocock return
THE freakish talents of Wallabies star Israel Folau have been underused in his time in rugby, according to NSW backs coach Chris Malone.
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​THE freakish talents of Wallabies star Israel Folau have been underused ​in his ​time in ​rugby, according to NSW backs coach Chris Malone.
An outstanding performance from Folau helped the Waratahs record a big win over the Rebels last start and NSW will unabashedly look to their marquee man to lead the way in another huge derby against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday night.
The Brumbies, however are being far more coy about the involvement of their superstar David Pocock, who is expected to return from injury against the old foe.
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ACT coach Dan McKellar not only refused to comment on whether Pocock would start or come off the bench, he wouldn’t even confirm the Wallabies star was going to play.
“David is going well, so we’ll make a decision and announce that team on Thursday,” McKellar said.
The Waratahs will keep a mostly unchanged team and that will mean Folau staying on the wing, where he moved to allow Bryce Hegarty into the no. 15 jersey.
Hegarty was impressive, scoring one try and assisting in two others, but it was Folau’s ability to win back possession inside the Rebels’ half under contestable kicks that mounted much the pressure in the second half.
While revelatory in some ways, the “pay” of using Folau in the air from the wing had been staring the Waratahs in the face all these years.
“The reality is the great strengths that he has probably haven’t been used enough over the last five years,” Malone said.
“If that’s through good work inside him, or passing it to him, or kicking it to him — there’s a number of ways we can that. He’s a huge threat and he had a great game last week, and we will be looking for him to have another one this week.
“The reality is you can pick him anywhere in the backline and he’s going to be the best player on the field, and I was really pleased for the performance that he had. He embraced the move to the wing and obviously he was the difference between the two teams.
“The ability for us to get on the front foot from what he can do in the air was phenomenal.”
The Waratahs looked in serious danger, though, when they trailed the Rebels 20-3 near halftime but they launched a six-try blitz.
“The change was a little bit of composure,” Malone said.
“You need to be able to build and apply pressure for longer periods in the game. We had a golden patch in the game but the Brumbies have the best defence in the Australian conference, so you know you are going to have to maintain possession for a lot longer than we have so far.”
Malone said halfback Jake Gordon was expected to return from a concussion, and though Nick Phipps may be okay too, he won’t be rushed back.
The Brumbies are hopeful Pocock and skipper Sam Carter (concussion) will both be fit but will wait until Thursday to make their team known.
“They’re training and ticking boxes,” McKellar said.
“If Poey is fit and available he will be playing. At this point in time, all the signs are leading towards that. If I was to make a decision now, he’ll have some involvement on Saturday night.”
Winger Henry Speight, who admitted he was close to taking a big payday from Bordeuax before re-signing for another year with the Brumbies and RA this week, said having Pocock back in the team would be a big boost for the Canberra team.
“Poey has been training the house down and that’s always a good thing,” Speight said.
“There’s no better game for him to come back. He brings that energy and discipline professional that lifts the boys.”