Israel Folau’s younger brother John picked for Emerging Waratahs
Israel Folau’s younger brother John is a step closer to playing alongside his superstar sibling after being picked to play for the Emerging NSW Waratahs against the visiting Auckland Contenders.
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ISRAEL Folau’s younger brother, John, is a step closer to playing alongside his superstar sibling after being picked to play for the Emerging NSW Waratahs tomorrow night.
The 24-year-old former Parramatta Eel will start on the right wing when the Emerging Tahs tackle the Auckland Contenders at NSW Rugby’s new headquarters in suburban Daceyville.
John Folau played eight NRL games with the Eels before switching codes last year, representing the Sydney Rays in the National Rugby Championship and showing enough potential in his limited appearances to earn a one-year contract with the Waratahs.
The same height as his brother but with a few extra kilos, the chance to play alongside Israel was part of his motivation to change codes and while he remains a work in progress, his selection is further evidence he’s heading in the right direction.
The Emerging team is stacked with players who are in the extended Waratahs squad but have been unable to break into the Super Rugby side so far this season.
Some will get their chance later in the year with the Waratahs under orders not to overcook their international stars ahead of the World Cup and Emerging Waratahs coach Shannon Fraser said tomorrow’s game was a chance to get them on the paddock.
“(Waratahs head coach) Daryl Gibson has made it a priority to add depth in his extended squad is to ensure he has guys he can call up to the Waratahs with actual game time minutes,” Fraser said.
The frontline Waratahs h
ave all been given the week off training after last weekend’s lucky escape against the Sunwolves, when they held on to win a point after Hayden Parker missed a last-minute field goal attempt that would have won the match for the Japanese franchise.
Their next match is against Queensland at the Sydney Cricket Ground and NSW assistant coach Chris Whitaker said the Waratahs will have to tighten up their game after falling into the trap of playing the same, aggressive way as the Sunwolves.
“At the end of the day, we won the game and that’s the pleasing aspect because things weren’t going our way and we aren't playing as good as we would have liked,” Whitaker said.
“But that’s not what we were looking for and we actually spoke about it before the game but those types of games are quite hard to play, you see it when teams play Fiji, they throw the ball around quite a lot and the opposition tends to play quite like them.
“In saying that, that’s our style of game as well, we like to attack, we like to play with the ball and move the ball around a lot, but what we have to do is execute better.”
Originally published as Israel Folau’s younger brother John picked for Emerging Waratahs
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