Could Wallabies be better without Israel Folau?

The Wallabies are set to pick a side without their star. But will they really miss him?

For only the second time since 2013, the Wallabies will this week pick a side that does not include Israel Folau. Picture: AFP

The Wallabies enter a new era this week, one they really didn’t see coming. For only the second time since 2013, they will pick a side that does not include Israel Folau.

That’s not to say that he has played every Test since he made his Wallabies debut against the British and Irish Lions six years ago. Over that period, Australia has played 83 Tests and Folau has been involved in 73 of them — 63 at fullback, nine on the right wing, one at outside centre.

Astonishingly, in all 73, he started. Not once did he come off the bench. He was either in the XV, injured, or rested for matches such as the USA Test just before the 2015 World Cup or the Uruguay game during the pool stage. The only occasion when he was deliberately left out of a team was for the 2017 spring tour when he took his sabbatical — and got married.

MORE: Folau legal battle: ARU sponsors may pay if Folau wins case | Inquirer — Blurring the bottom line, Minding their own business is no longer enough for companies | Editorial: Corporate activism’s fine until the mob has its say | Janet Albrechtsen: Qantas boss can’t be happy

Unquestionably, his absence will have an impact. In some areas, it will leave a huge hole in the Australian game, the aerial game especially, and woe betide the Wallaby who in a crunch moment at the World Cup spills a high ball.

There is no doubt, too, that Folau moving to his right and employing his “shimmy” and left-arm fend was one of the great sights in world rugby. But in order to accommodate these gifts, Australia had to structure their overall game to cover his limitations. The most conspicuous was the most unexpected. Despite spending two years with Greater Western Sydney in the AFL, he really couldn’t kick.

WEB _ Folau sport graphic

“Of all the fullbacks in the modern game, Folau would have had the weakest kick,” said former Wallabies coach John Connolly. “Positionally, he also wasn’t the greatest. And while he was useful attacking down the left flank, he was nowhere near as effective as on the right-hand side of the field. Nor did he pass well. Opposing teams quickly worked all this out and would put him in positions on the field where he felt least comfortable.”

Of course, there were things Folau could do that were unstoppable. He triggered an international crisis last year when he leapt so high for short kick-offs that the only way Ireland could combat him was to hoist a player aloft. But the lifter, CJ Stander, lost control of his load and when Folau brushed against Irish captain Peter O’Mahony it sent him crashing to earth.

To the astonishment of Australians, Folau was sin-binned and then subsequently suspended for one week. Rugby Australia thundered it would take its case to World Rugby but when asked yesterday what had become of its protest, no one seemed to know. Seemingly when Folau was terminated, so too was the problem.

Yet Connolly, and other experts prepared to speak about Folau but only on condition of anonymity — such has been their experience of trolls — did believe that Australia might actually be better off without him.

Wallabies player Israel Folau during a Bledisloe Cup match between the Wallabies and the All Blacks at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in 2017.

For those 73 Tests, Australia tolerated Folau’s weaknesses in the hope of exploiting his strengths — with limited success, since the Wallabies won only 33 of them. But now that he has been removed from the selection picture, so the argument goes, Australia can pick a more well-rounded side.

The Brumbies’ Tom Banks has played only three Tests, all off the bench, but he has been the pick of the fullbacks this year. He is arguably Australia’s fastest player, he kicks well and generally tidies up well at the back.

Dane Haylett-Petty is arguably the most complete No 15 but he lacks top-end speed, which leaves only the enigmatic Kurtley Beale. There are those who argue vehemently he should not be taken to the World Cup; there are those who claim he should be the first one chosen. The statistics suggest Australia can’t afford to leave him behind.

Of his 34 Tests at fullback, Australia have won 22 of them, a 64.70 per cent win rate. Lies, damned lies and statistics, of course, but there is something about the fact Beale has won virtually two Tests out of three with a 15 on his back that is awfully compelling.

One thing is certain. Until now, it was a given who would play No 15 for Australia. Now it’s not.