Will Skelton set to start crucial Brumbies clash on the bench behind Jacques Potgieter

ISRAEL Folau may have to wait before he is reunited with Will Skelton, with the giant lock set to start on the bench against the Brumbies.

Will Skelton catches a pass during Waratahs training at Kippax Oval,Moore Park.Picture Gregg Porteous

IT is the tag-team that could take NSW all the way to their maiden premiership, but Israel Folau may have to wait before he is reunited with teammate Will Skelton on Saturday, with the giant lock set to start on the bench against the Brumbies.

Skelton made a stunning Test debut for the Wallabies last Saturday and his exquisite pass to set up Folau’s second try against France remains the talk of the town.

However, his efforts may not be enough to convince Waratahs coach Michael Cheika to start him as Jacques Potgieter is favoured to hold on to the No.4 jersey he wore in the last match against the Chiefs.

Folau revealed that he had spoken to his Wallaby roommate Skelton last week about the play that saw him receive a beautifully timed short pass and race 20 metres under the posts — and we could see the move tried again in the final rounds of the Super Rugby season.

“We’ve trained it a bit, not too much. During the week I mentioned to Will that it might open up around the middle there,” Folau said.

Will Skelton hit the pads before slipping a pass during Waratahs training.

“I was trying to think outside the square - where most of the forwards play with the other forwards, I wanted to change things up and run a short ball off Will.

“He is a big guy, he attracts a lot of players when he runs the ball, it happened to work out Saturday arvo.”

Asked if we could see the pair combine for a similar set-play for NSW, Folau smiled: “I’m trying to work on it, there’s not only Will but a couple of other guys in forwards and in the team that can do that.

“Certainly for a big man, he’s got very high skills, not only his passing, but the way he moves around the park.

“He is pretty agile for a 140-plus kilo man, he’s got some silky skills that I don’t think most people realise.

“I see that first-hand at training. A lot of the other guys in the team realise that, I think if he keeps working on that he will add an element to his game that he would have over other forwards.

“I was always confident in Will having the skill to deliver that pass, and he backs himself too.

“He is a guy that plays on confidence, in the last few weeks he has been on that high and he deserves a spot.”

But Cheika will be reticent to change a team that delivered victory against defending champions the Chiefs in their backyard of New ­Plymouth in their last game.

And Potgieter was a key part of NSW’s forward dominance that day.

Cheika is expected to name his starting side on Tuesday, and guaranteed starting second-rower Kane Douglas says he will be happy to run out with either Potgieter or Skelton.

“Either way it’s going to be good,” Douglas said. “They’re both pretty good impact players. They’ve got that energy a bit more than me.

“One of them would be better on the bench than I would because I don’t think I’d bring that impact off the bench.

“Whoever they pick is going to be good. They are both big players and hopefully we can have a win this week.”

Douglas was not included in the Wallabies side because he has signed a deal to play for Irish club Leinster next year, and Australian coach Ewen McKenzie wants to develop locks who will have available for next year’s World Cup.

Originally published as Will Skelton set to start crucial Brumbies clash on the bench behind Jacques Potgieter