Hi SA rugby.com -
Giving you a heads up to watch Israel Folau this year playing @ fullback tomorrow night for the Tahs.
He was a Rugby League superstar and by all accounts is looking to set Aust Rugby on fire too.
He was easily twice the player of SBW in Rugby League about the same height, quicker, better step, mark hyigh balls and can kick well too...
Obviously hasnt been proved yet in Super rugby but of all the rugby league converts to date THIS is the guy to watch...
Go reds -
You mean watch him kick the Reds butt this weekend. That will be v funny to hear you crying about Folau spoiling the Reds party after giving him a big rap. Twice as good as SBW though but he has'nt been proved yet?
SBW has won a Super XV title with the Chiefs and a World Cup medal with the ABs. What has Izzy won in rugby to be twice as good? Nothing so might be a bit premature there with yr hyperbole there buddy.
Don't worry Red if you were around here earlier you would know we have already been talking Folau up and we can also see him giving the ABs headaches when he plays for the Wobblies. Pity you Saffas have'nt any league converts of yr own . Might be something to work on...
redsman
I heard a lot about Folau already and will watch his performance in the game between the Reds and the Waratahs. Was frankly disappointed with the Reds in their game against the Brumbies. I hope they do better this Round.
brycy
Al the experts give the Chiefs no chance to beat the Highlanders. I think that the Highlanders have too many geriatric in their team to be really effective and has in the competitions have given them the edge by 3 points. Hope they do not disappoint me.
I like SBW ad thinks he is a great player - but he is gone now and I think the Chiefs backline will be less effective as a result. Not very keen about Cruden without SBW.
not so clever mike the Chiefs lost to the Highlanders and 4 players recieved injuries exactly this time last year. For tonights match against them, the Mighty Chiefs have 4 of their big guns out injured again. It's like deja vue all over again except we hope to beat them this time . Cruden is The best standoff in world rugby at the moment so no doubts he will do the damage.
Welcome back Redsman and all the best for the season. Take no serious note of brycy has to be the rule when it comes to rugby matters.
I seem to recall brycy that the fact the Mighty Stormers had so many out injured by the end of last season was just an excuse in your book. Now you are wailing about missing 4 players. Bwahahahahhaha where is the consistency brycy. oops I forgot you are being consistent.
One good tackle and crude will fold. He looks an arrogant type ready to be taken down a peg or two?
Bean Brain my nigger . Leave the Mighty to the Mighty Chiefs... or maybe just use small case letters for yr team...
This guy has been talked up a lot and I doubt he has the physicality of SBW to make the same impression. Time will tell
@brycy the guy is a qlder anyway. And sbw was never a standout at league anyway... Well see how he goes this year. My bet be sbw injured within a game or two. Shouldn't have tried to bribe the white buffalo...
@saffex not as confrontational as sbw but way smoother same size and just quick...
Lookout for the brumbies this year Early on they are the aussie team to beat...
Nope Red, the modern game needs the physical edge that was SBW's strength and SBW has 10kg plus of muscle over Israel.
But Israel is at 15, so will be playing a completely different role to SBW. Israel will have alot more space to impress.
SBW was awesome in that he made an impact in the confined space that a modern test 12 finds himself. Therein lay his class. Israel has a much easier task at 15
Dunno respective weights but izzy got powerful big legs not as bigger upper body as sbw but leg drive way more. Anyway don't want to talk him up too much but he was an excellent league player better than sbw that's my point.
Good idea Red. Shutup until you know what yr talking about.
We all know Saffas know nothing about league.
Brycy, looks like Redsman's first comment was about league not union. He says Israel was/is a better league player than SBW ever was. He never questioned what SBW has done in union.
The two can not really be compared in union. It seems they have different roles. SBW was a centre, Israel a fullback. Israel might show he is better in space and under the high ball. SBW is better in the midst of traffic as he has beautiful offload skills and explosive power. Time will tell. Remember SBW was not great his first year with the Crusaders. He took a season to settle so lets afford Folau the same luxury before passing judgement on him. As it stands now, he looks a brilliant prospect for the Tahs and Wallabies should he choose to play internationally!
Brycy, you right about league. No many Saffa's will know about it. In my opinion, that game is crap. Its crash boom bang war of attrition.
Redsman
You are not the only member who have been shouting and screaming about Folau - so I was particularly interested to see how he performs. It is not wise to do an assessment of a player based on one game only. However, what I saw today was a player I would not want in my team at all unless he shows about a 100% improevment.. I was sorely tempted to include him in my fantasy team and am delighted that I did not. He really was poor throughout the game - and was gifted a try with an open line ahead of him - no defenders in sight. In fact if he did not score the try he would have been a real disaster in the match.
I was much more impressed with Volavola - never head of him before - but I think he looks like something special.
Congrats with the Reds win today - they definitely ourplayed th Waratahs comprehensively.
Yes well Redsman, after seeing Israel drop the ball twice in contact I decided to go to Baghdad.
Yep too much hype around izzy but give him few games seem to recall sbw knocking on a lot early in his switch. Anyway volavola was a revelation I think tahs lost the game at the 9 / 10 channel... Next week would think volavola will start at 10. Another one to watch was new 13 for reds Feauai-Sautia FS for short... 20 yo Aust schoolboy looks like similar build to crusaders fruen. I'm thinking ant faingaa may struggle to retain spot in back line... Go to see reds get score onthe board
@redsman,
stop talking rubbish, i have over a terabyte worth of rugby games including EVERY SINGLE SBW rugby union game he has ever played, except for his preasoan games and his recent japanese top league games and i know first hand that SBWs impact to union was immediately successful.
with one preseason game under his belt, SBW debut for toulon in top14 by comming from the bench in the 20th minute, where he scored 1 try, 2 offloads, 2 tackle breaks.
when SBW played his 20th game for toulon, toulon announced they were trying to sign him up again for another 3 years on a 6million dollar deal, so best u stick to what u know, instead of lying.
the lack of facts involved with many bloggers comments on this site is quite mind blowing, o_O
re folau:
folau was shit end of story, and like u i was one of many who talked him up big time as i ahd massive expectations for izzy.
its very clear to me he has no business playing at fullback and if cheika is as smart as i think he is, he will move folau to the wing ASAP.
the wing is the only position in both league and union where the dynamics are the same. and consideirng i cant even remember him playing fullback in league, i ahve no idea why he thought he that he would succeed there, cos on defnece and attack he was seriously like a fish out of water.
he had no idea when to assert himself into the attacking line, ecept through set pieces but then they practis that day in and day out. and WTF was with him saunting along like a tongan princess??? hit the fucking line by using ur speed and size, geez what a soft poof.
and dont even get me started with his defence. he dosent have one iota of a clue as to where he should be standing and if a reds outfit missing two of their best players can make a joke of his union debut, whats he going to do when the likes of the sharks, crusaders and chiefs come a knocking??? o_O
could u imagine how bad it would have been for him if genia had been playing??? genia is one of the smartest players around and he would have identified the folau weak link and directed all traffic down his path.
he can still improve a lot, mainly because he was shit. but hes not going to learn the dynamics of rugby union by playing fullback, he needs to go on the wing where he can do less damage with defensive lapses and be more potent on attack as a finisher which in league he primairly was.
the reds game has done more harm then good to folau and if continues to play fullback, then hes going to be the next timana tahu, let alone be better then SBW.
Watching the game now. 25th minute it is Reds 17- 3 Watahs.
The Reds could easily be 40 points but have not converted all oppertunities. Not sure if Falau overrated as he got steamrolled when trying to make a tackle on Shipperly.
Waratahs coach maybe also overrated.
@sasuke - SBW may have done the right thing but starting up over in French rugby (~5yrs back) which is no where the same intensity as Super Rugby. Maybe Folau could have done with that kind of start too...
I do tend to agree re him playing on the wing. But more importantly Tahs need to get better 9/10 channel the two that played there on the weekend were club rugby players @ best... for a team that has just about more resources than any in the comp I would think Tahs priority should be getting a decent 10... On that Volavola could be that man - he looked super sharp and would like to see him start next week for Tahs.
But more importantly Reds did it easy enough with Horwill Genia Robinson Faingaa Samo on the injury bench...
Faingaa may struggle to get his spot back though...
Wellington will be good challenge will give good indication where reds are at this year - tip is @ home will be too good for canes.
@redsman,
i dont think it has anything to do with where and how SBW started of in union, some people just adapt very quickly with the transition from league to union. l tiquiri, w sailor, a walker, m rogers, j robinson, b thorn, SBW are but a few names of players who made a smooth trasition from league to union.
folau is in the same category of ryan cross, cooper vuna, jospeh tomane, where he is struggling but has the potential to make it.
of all those league players mentioned above, there are only 4 who continued to improve with every game until they became very important memebers of their team, brad thorn, jason robinson, matt rogers and SBW.
of those 4 players, SBW is the only one who has the potential to be an ALL time great, something that is mere speculation now considering how SBW rolls with his sporting choices.
i dont rate vola vola, still very green. in the trial matches against the crusdaers he was a mirror image of janties on the weekend.
re hurricanes/reds
i do rate the reds, especially at full strength even more so at suncorp. but the game is 50/50 IMO, but the hurricanes shouldnt be too rattled, they have beaten the reds in their last 5 meetings, including twice at suncorp.
on paper the hurricanes have a better team then the reds, but the reds know how to win at suncorp so a very even match, but one im looking forward to this weekend.
MAtty Rogers was Schoolboy rugby player till 16-17yo then switched to League - played 1XV @ TSS in 1992&1993. I still think Folau got more potential than him. And physically no comparison...
The consensus still is Folau's got it - I know the rugby marketeers certainly want him to achieve @ this level as would bring back market share over from RL.
Deans' opinion:"He's a huge talent and he can play fullback, he can play wing, he can play 13. He's getting in-game experience week to week and the competition is getting tougher, getting him closer to Test rugby week by week. So it's great, it's good for him and good to us."
Genias' opinion:"I'm a massive fan of his. I hope he learns from it and becomes a better player and I think if he does he can have a massive future in rugby,"
No denying $BW was one of the best switches from League - Brad Thorn still best IMO for longevity... $BW too interested in bribing white buffalos... and think he may get hurt in NRL as these guys are at lot rawer, dumber and generally tougher than rugby players in Oz.
Agree Canes v Reds should be a cracker...!!
And BTW... French rugby not easier.... haha whatever...
Brad Thorn was a bog ordinary player - I never rated this guy. Too small for lock and no skills at all. Meant to be a hard man
@redsman,
playing rugby at school would explain matt rogers understanding of the game and his smooth transition, but it dosnet explain the way he continued to improve as a union player, i mean he was the one player who could play 10-15 at interntaional level.
im also surprised that he had any union background at all TBHmconsidering just how much of a legaue die hard his father was who admitted he hated union and only watched it when his son played.
i dont care what the concensus says about how hes still got it, IMO he dosent have it and whats he going to do when they play the reds again with genia directing the play or when the chiefs and crusaders come a knocking??? hes got to do a lot more then 100% improvement to not get totally undone by those star teams.
i see what deano said about folau, but heres what deno said about timana tahu,,,
“He also has an ability to link. And to do that, you’ve got to have an awareness of what’s around you.
“So there’s real scope there for us to add to that.
“He’s got a distinct skill set from the likes of Barnesy, which gives us options and gives us choice within a game..
“He’s obviously been a talent from way back , but he’s also a work in progress, as he is the first bloke to concede."
incase u dont rember how timana thau turned out for the watratahs or wallabies, he was a complete and utter failure and the worst league to union convert ever.
i agree that thorn is one of the best converts, IMO tied with jason robinson who i was always a huge fan of, but SBW had the potential to be the best of them all, but wont be because of his code hopping antics.
and of course aussie league players are tougher, more raw and dumber then union players, austrlais drug enforced policies have seen to that, LMAO, :oD
its silly to say that SBW wont get hurt, players get hurt all the time, but dont u think its a bit convenient that the NRL ban the shoulder charge from league as SBW announces his return to the NRL???
ive seen ur comments saying u dont rate SBW as a league player, but nathan hindmarsh, matt geyer and hazeem el masari have all been asked as to who is the greatest league player they have ever seen and SBW who was they all said was the best they have ever seen play.
but despite what SBW has been proven to have done, is there anything that was worse the andrew johns popping exctasy or making derogative racist comments towrds greg ingliss??? u know theres not and australia league made that drug taking racist an immortal, WTF??? o_O
BTW why are u implying that i said french rugby is not easier???
yep agree jason robinson was a standout. Probably would have liked to see timana stay with rugby but he had few family not to mention probably (mental) issues.
My point is that SBW had 2-3? seasons playing french rugby which is an easier entry point to learn to play professional rugby. The majority of the rest of converts went straight to S15/ S14...
Additonally $BW had world class 5/8s (Johnny Wilko @ toulon and Dan Carter first year s15) on his inside giving him quality ball. As stated previously I think this is where the Tahs will struggle this year without a quality 9/10 channel. So Folau not getting the ball in the right place at right time as SBW probably was...
Re Matty rogers - obviously his dad was wealthy enough ex-leaguey to send kid to private school where they ONLY play Rugby - so RL was never an option. For the SA record - Rugby ONLY played @ private schools - the rest ~90% high schools in the country play AFL or RL.
Re Greg Ingliss now there is a guy I would love to see play rugby....
Re Dingo Deans - retract any credibility behind his words as for some of the good he has done for Aussie rugby nothing compared to the potential of Jake White with Brumbies... and Ewen @ reds - who incidently recently commented that Folau is 'up against it' to make wallabies squad for Lions.
The beauty though of the whoel thing is - Rugby season is back!
yep agree jason robinson was a standout. Probably would have liked to see timana stay with rugby but he had few family not to mention probably (mental) issues.
My point is that SBW had 2-3? seasons playing french rugby which is an easier entry point to learn to play professional rugby. The majority of the rest of converts went straight to S15/ S14...
Additonally $BW had world class 5/8s (Johnny Wilko @ toulon and Dan Carter first year s15) on his inside giving him quality ball. As stated previously I think this is where the Tahs will struggle this year without a quality 9/10 channel. So Folau not getting the ball in the right place at right time as SBW probably was...
Re Matty rogers - obviously his dad was wealthy enough ex-leaguey to send kid to private school where they ONLY play Rugby - so RL was never an option. For the SA record - Rugby ONLY played @ private schools - the rest ~90% high schools in the country play AFL or RL.
Re Greg Ingliss now there is a guy I would love to see play rugby....
Re Dingo Deans - retract any credibility behind his words as for some of the good he has done for Aussie rugby nothing compared to the potential of Jake White with Brumbies... and Ewen @ reds - who incidently recently commented that Folau is 'up against it' to make wallabies squad for Lions.
The beauty though of the whoel thing is - Rugby season is back!
@redsman,
timana tahu had heaps of chances in union to prove himself, he failed on both super rugby and international level. thats why he left union to go back to league, cos he knew he didnt make the grade, and it would have been a waste of time for him stay in the game any longer then he did.
also timana tahus mental issues and family issues were exasperated once he returned to league, i dont blame him though, especially with all those racist drug taking dingo warriors he was surrounded with like that ecstasy popping nazi andrew johns.
SBW didnt play for toulon for 2-3 years either, he was signed on for a two year contract, but only ended up playing just over a seasons worth of games due to a broken arm he suffered.
again i stress its a lot better to talk about things u actually know, cos anyone who watched SBW in toulon knows that he first played out on the wing, then he played a few games at blindside flanker and No8. he then played center for a couple of games before breaking his arm. the time he was playing center though he didnt have wilkinson didnt help him develop cos wilkinson wasnt the flyhalf for his time in the centers though the two would devlop a nice combo the very next year when SBW cemented the 12
however SBW playing in the centers was an instant hit and that was with toulons 3rd pick flyhaf who was a french dude ive never seen since.
SBW in his first game at 12, 2 try asist, 4 offloads, 1 line break, 3 tackle breasks. u know what these stats indicate, what everyone already suspected, an instant superstar, something folau is miles and miles away from becoming if at all.
i hope the wallabies do sign up jake white, IMO the wallabies when full strength have a team that can match the All Blacks, so if white is the wallabies coach, i can sit back and relax and watch the All Blacks continue to dominate rugby like they always have, so count on me to have my fingers crossed.
