Israel Folau warns French he’s ready to fire for Wallabies in upcoming three-Test series
ISRAEL Folau has declared the enormous weight of expectation on his shoulders will not stifle his brilliance in the three-Test series against France.
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ISRAEL Folau has declared the enormous weight of expectation on his shoulders will not stifle his brilliance in the three-Test series against France starting Saturday.
With five-eighth Quade Cooper ruled out after undergoing shoulder surgery, Folau will be under even more pressure than usual to spark the Wallabies’ attack as their X-factor player.
Fresh from breaking the Waratahs’ all-time record last Saturday for most individual tries in a season, Folau said he is a far more complete player 12 months after making his Test debut against the British & Irish Lions.
“Last year was huge for me, taking on all the experiences I’ve had, I said it from the start when I first got there, I will always back myself and along the way I will learn with the more games I play,” Folau said.
“It will be a great experience for me, I haven’t played against the French before, that will be something new in itself.
“I’m rapt, I know I’ve worked so hard since I got to the Tahs and a lot of things are paying off for me.
“I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing, enjoying my rugby.
“I know there is a lot of heavy expectation from people watching, but I know what I have to do for the team, just take my opportunities when they present themselves.”
Cooper’s replacement as Wallaby five-eighth will be either Bernard Foley or Kurtley Beale, who have both worked fluently with Folau at the Waratahs this year.
“There is no pressure that I feel, it’s unfortunate that Quade is out and injured, but there are certainly other players that can fit into that position,” Folau said.
“Bernard, KB, Matt Toomua, they can play really well in that position so there’s no panic stations there.
“Whoever takes up those positions, I’m not too worried about — I’d never played with Quade before the spring tour.
“For me it’s not a worry, whoever they pick, I’ve just got to try to adapt as quick as I can to the way they play.
“Obviously it will be a lot easier of it’s KB or Bernard there. We’ve formed a great combination throughout the year and I’m sure whoever gets picked there will do a great job for the team.”
Folau, who has 11 tries in 10 games this season, overtook Peter Hewat’s mark of 10 tries in the 2005 season when he scored against the Chiefs in New Plymouth last Saturday.
The Tahs won the match 33-17 to solidify their top-two position, and Folau said there was far more belief in the NSW side now than compared to a year ago when they finished mid-table.
“I certainly think it’s there now, the talk going around amongst the team, that confidence and belief, you can see it when you go out and play,” Folau said.
“The Chiefs fought back during the game and this time last year we would have panicked a bit and let the game run.
“But we stayed committed and stuck to our guns. We showed a lot of maturity from this time last year, the group has certainly grown in that area where we’ve got so much belief and confidence in their own ability and as a team.”
As for breaking the try-scoring record, Folau said: “I was really happy with that outcome, but overall I was happy with the team performance to get a really tough, physical team win.
“It’s a huge honour to take the record, if you look at the history Peter Hewat held it previously and he was one of the greats for the Waratahs.”
Super Rugby takes a three-week hiatus for the June Test series, and will resume on June 27.
Originally published as Israel Folau warns French he’s ready to fire for Wallabies in upcoming three-Test series