Israel Folau will compete in his third professional sport in four years after signing with the the NSW Waratahs this morning. But rather than being celebrated for his athletic durability, Folau’s move has been met with widespread skepticism as a result of the murky manner to which he came to sign with the the Super Rugby franchise.
With rumors linking Folau to the NRL by way of the Parramatta Eels, rugby league supporters have hit out at the star for being a money hungry mercenary. It’s a tag that Folau refutes. “If I was entirely in it for the money I could have stayed in the AFL and played out my contract,” Folau said. “I didn’t promise anything. From the time I left the Giants all my options were open – rugby league and rugby union.”
As spurned supports and Parramatta officials must acknowledge, the Waratahs deal would not have been the most lucrative deal on offer and his one year contract is placing plenty of pressure and responsibility on the speedy code-swapper to perform in his maiden year in a new game. Former Wallaby coach Eddie Jones, Wallaby legend Time Horan, and rugby convert Wendall Sailor have backed Folau’s skills and physicality and predicted he would make a successful conversion but Sailor added that Folau will need to set goals further than his 1-year contract if he is to truly prosper.
“If I was Israel I would commit for longer. He has to make himself a goal of playing in the World Cup,” Sailor said. “In
that first year I was a league player trying to play rugby union and it
wasn’t so much the tackling or the running, that wasn’t an issue for
me.”
“It was just knowing where to be, the kicking game, having the
patience. I didn’t have the patience. I wanted to be involved in the
game every minute, every play, that was my game.”
“I think Israel has great feel and great touch.”
“I
didn’t have what Israel has. I think he is in the middle of Matty
Rogers and Lote Tuqiri and myself. He has more skill than I had but not as
much as Rogers and Tuqiri.”
Despite the controversy, it’s a massive win for the Waratahs. With a backline that stuttered in Kurtley Beale’s absence last year, the Waratahs were in desperate need for a backline X-factor. Providing he finds his feet, Folau will be that X-factor.
via Fox Sports
Picture by Joosep Martinson/Getty Images
