McKenzie mulls Folau switch after Kiwi defeat
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Israel Folau could find himself playing at fullback to improve Australia’s attacking options and give the Wallabies a better chance of beating New Zealand.
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie said yesterday he would not rule out moving Folau, who played without threat on the wing in the All Blacks’ 47-29 win over Australia in the opening Bledisloe Cup/Rugby Championship match in Sydney on Saturday, to fullback, where he played for the New South Wales Waratahs this Super Rugby season.
McKenzie says “we’ll be open-minded about that” concerning a possible position switch for Folau for next Saturday’s second test in Wellington, where the Wallabies will try to avoid losing the trans-Tasman Bledisloe Cup series for the 11th consecutive year.
Former Wallaby Tim Horan said during Saturday’s television commentary that Folau had “one of the quietest games I’ve ever seen for an Australian winger”.
McKenzie agreed that the All Blacks might have paid special attention to Folau. “Well, one way of targeting him is to keep him out of the game,” McKenzie told Australian Associated Press. “So it’s up to us to find ways to keep him in the game.”
A former rugby league star, Folau was named Australia’s Super Rugby rookie of the year after his debut season at fullback for the Waratahs, while test rookie Jesse Mogg had a difficult starting debut in Australia’s No. 15 jumper on Saturday.
Moving Folau to fullback would probably require shifting Adam Ashley-Cooper from outside center to the wing.
“He’s played most of his rugby league career on the wing,” McKenzie said of Folau.
“The fullback bit has been obviously something the Tahs experimented with. We certainly don’t rule out that he can play in that position and within a game he can play in that position.”
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