Israel Folau v Nemani Nadolo: Who will have the biggest impact on the Super Rugby final?

ISRAEL Folau and Nemani Nadolo are Super Rugby’s leading try-scorers — and they face off in the final. Who will have the bigger impact? Vote now!

IT’S the one that got away, versus the one that they got — and it could go a long way to deciding the Super Rugby final.

Waratahs fullback Israel Folau and Crusaders winger Nemani Nadolo — who was once on NSW’s books — shape as the game-breakers for their respective sides when they clash in Saturday night’s decider at ANZ Stadium.

Between them they have crossed for 23 tries — Folau a competition-high 12, and Nadolo right behind him in second spot with 11 five-pointers.

They rack up run metres like they’re going out of fashion, and shed defenders like they’re not there. But which of this pair is the biggest game-breaker?

Fox Sports Stats shows just how dangerous both attacking weapons are — and also how hard it is to split them.

Israel Folau slides in for one of his 12 tries so far this season.

Folau, the code-hopping superstar that the Waratahs snared from underneath the NRL’s Parramatta Eels back in 2012, has been simply stunning in his second season of Super Rugby.

Along with his 12 tries, Folau’s attacking stats are awesome. He’s churned through 1281 run metres to be third overall in the competition, ranks third for tackle busts with 60 and has a fifth-best 13 linebreaks.

Nadolo, the Brisbane-born and raised former Australian under-20s star, has racked up numbers that are just as impressive in his debut Super Rugby season.

His 1157 run metres are the seventh best in Super Rugby for 2014, his 61 tackle busts rank second and he tops the competition’s linebreaks list with 18.

Nemani Nadolo dives over to score against the Sharks last weekend.

At 123kg and 195cm, Nadolo usually dwarfs his rival wingers — and he certainly will this weekend when he lines up against the 94kg, 184cm Waratahs flyer Alofa Alofa.

All Blacks great Justin Marshall reckons “Australia missed a big trick” in letting Nadolo depart following stints with Perth Spirit in the old Australian Rugby Championship, and Sydney’s Shute Shield sides Randwick and Manly.

“He’s big, strong and quick. It’s not the fact he’s scoring tries, but the attention he gets that creates space for others,” Marshall wrote in his column for the New Zealand Herald.

“He’s similar to Israel Folau in that he only needs to poke his nose into the backline and the opposition is immediately on high alert.”

But while they might regret letting Nadolo slip away, the Waratahs will be more than happy with the one that they did snare — high-flying Folau.

Along with his incredible aerial prowess, the former NRL star has an edge over Nadolo in one key area — setting up his teammates.

His incredible 44 offloads are the best in Super Rugby, while he has also created 10 linebreak assists — the eighth highest in the competition.

Who’s the biggest game-breaker? Vote in our poll below.

Originally published as Israel Folau v Nemani Nadolo: Who will have the biggest impact on the Super Rugby final?