Israel Folau, the man of three football codes has gone from playing for Queensland in State of Origin to being on the receiving end of a Queensland win in Super Rugby.
The Queensland Reds outlasted the NSW Waratahs in the derby that is now 130 years old. Winning 25-17 the Reds won the games and state bragging rights, reports Fox Sports.
The Reds back line performed extremely well against their big name counterparts and while not always effective the Quade Cooper show was back in action.
It was also the debut of NRL turned AFL turned Super Rugby big name, Israel Folau and all eyes were on the player. Unfortunately Folau must have felt those eyes as his debut turned into a jumble of errors.
Reds coach Robbie Deans defended the NSW coach Michael Cheika’s decision to play the multi-code star Folau despite his error-riddled performance.
“It was a baptism of fire obviously,” said Deans. “It was always going to be. But he’s a class footballer and he’ll be back, don’t worry about that.”
Deans will be looking to see if Folau is ready for a test call up when the British and Irish Lions tour Australia in June. Monday marks the 100 day countdown to the tour which will kick off on June 5th.
By then Folau will have had almost a full Super Rugby seasons worth of experience. Both Chieka and Deans are confident that Folau can improve and put the pressure behind him as the season progresses.
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