Why Israel Folau should not sign with the Queensland Reds
Brad Thorn is dreaming of Folau leaping once again for high balls on the Suncorp Stadium turf, bringing him to the Reds in a return to Brisbane where he played rugby league for the Broncos nearly a decade ago.
“I guess it’s one of those things where you have those dreams at night and some people see sheep jumping, I see Izzy in a Queensland jersey,” Thorn told rugby.com.au earlier this week.
“If we heard he was interested in coming here that would be exciting and can you imagine those (cross-field kicks)?” he suggested.
Israel Folau has remained coy on the matter also, remaining non-committal about his future ahead of the Waratahs home playoff match against the Highlanders.
Could a move north really be in the works, and would it be in his best interests? Here’s why he should think twice before joining Australia’s worst professional rugby team.
The Reds have been a disaster this decade with huge churn across the coaching staff and the playing roster since winning the title in 2011. They finished this year with a six-win season, showing they still have a way to go before they become a legitimate contender in the Australian conference under Thorn.
Leaving the conference-winning Waratahs to join the Reds would significantly hurt Folau’s chances of playing for another Super Rugby title. The Waratahs have just claimed back the mantle of Australia’s top team from the Brumbies and have by far the best roster in the country for the foreseeable future.
With the Brumbies undergoing a regeneration process and the Rebels set to lose a few key pieces next year, the Waratahs will likely be the number one team for the next few years. With a distorted conference system, securing home ground advantage gives the Waratahs a high likelihood of at least making the semi-finals but substantially improves the odds of making a final as well. The Waratahs could well be playing in Christchurch for the Super Rugby title this year due to a favourable playoff run.
Aside from the chances of winning more championships, the question isn’t whether Folau would make the Reds better, which is obviously yes, but whether the Reds will make Folau better – which is a no.
Thorn hasn’t yet settled on a halves pairing, and there is no definitive playmaker to structure the attack around following the exile of Quade Cooper. The game plan at the Reds became more and more conservative as the season went on, with little-to-no innovation from set-piece play.
The under-utilisation of set-piece plays would limit Folau’s effectiveness over the season, frustrating him with the lack of quality ball in space. Without a proven playmaker, the times he is given the ball will rely on him creating for himself. A large percentage of the current midfield set plays currently revolve around Samu Kerevi crash balls to reset pattern, to which again Folau would find little involvement in.
Thorn’s current assistant coach Paul Carozza is reportedly responsible for handling the Reds backs. With over 15 years of experience nurturing Queensland’s youth pathways, he is light on experience with top-level backs coaching. How he can improve Folau’s game remains to be seen, with little progress shown with the Reds backline this year.
If Thorn is really interested in implementing an aerial attack with cross-field kicking, he should start by finding a 10 with the necessary kicking skills to execute it. Young flyhalf Hamish Stewart was shielded from handling much of the kicking duties this year, averaging just 4.5 kicks per game, the third lowest of any flyhalf in Super Rugby.
If he stands to play a bigger role next season, there will be some growing pains as he continues to find his feet. To answer Thorn’s question, the only thing I can imagine at this stage is the ball flying out on the full on a regular basis.
The only possible draw for Folau is the potential to regularly play fullback again. His wife has expressed dissatisfaction with his selection on the wing at the Waratahs. Given that he is the current Wallaby fullback, it makes sense that he would want to play there.
The Reds used four players there this year – Jono Lance, Hamish Stewart, Aidan Toua and Jayden Ngamanu. With Lance and Toua likely to move on, the door will be wide open for Folau. The problem is, without the proper supporting cast and strategy, fullback at the Reds is almost a redundant position.
Just look at Karmichael Hunt’s transition that was an underwhelming failure, in part due to the lack of opportunities he had on the end of a Reds backline that could not create space. Despite multiple coaching changes, the Reds have veered back towards a similar playing style that failed them then and will fail them now.
Destination Brisbane shouldn’t be high on the priority list for Folau if this is a rugby decision. A move to the Queensland Reds would be a categorical career-killer for one of Australia’s best rugby talents.
Comments on RugbyPass
What a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
1 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to comments