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'I don't like the comparison' Israel Folau discusses similarities to Joseph Sua'ali'i
Former Wallaby Israel Folau has been doing the podcast rounds in recent weeks, most recently appearing on the Ebbs and Flows podcast.
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The 35-year-old was asked about Rugby League star Joseph Sua’ali’i, who will join Rugby Australia at the conclusion of the NRL season.
Discussing his relationship with the 21-year-old, the former Waratah explained that the pair first met before his rise to fame as one of the best outside backs in the NRL.
“I met Joseph when he was still in school, and he was the nicest kid.” Folau said, “I talked to him every now and then here and here now dropping a text or message, and that man, he’s a talent bro, a freak.”
Given the similarities in the two players’ physical stature and style of play, Sua’ali’i has already garnered comparisons to Folau at the time of his transition to the XV-a-side code. Tempering expectations, Folau cautioned against placing too much pressure on the 21-year-old who last played rugby union during his school days.
“I see a lot of people comparing him to me; I don’t like the comparison from an individual point of view, for his sake, because I think he’s talented, but I just don’t like when people compare because he’s quite young and I don’t like people putting pressure on him.
“Don’t get me wrong; I can see why, but personally, I want this guy to succeed, and he’s done a lot already in the game, and I was quite happy when I obviously saw him sign and go over and play rugby.
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“He’s got a rugby background, obviously, and that helps a lot too.”
Offering advice to the youngster ahead of his highly anticipated switch, Folau feels that he should block the ever-increasing external noise about what he could achieve in the sport.
“One piece of advice I’d give to him is just don’t put any pressure on yourself and forget about what the media are saying about you.
“Just go out there and play freely, just back yourself and just play the game freely, the way you know how to play the game.”
Shifting his focus to the much discussed topic of Sua’ali’i’s five million Australian dollar contract, the former fullback said he could see both sides of the debate. On one hand, he stressed that the player could not be blamed for accepting the deal whilst also understanding that long term Wallabies could be put out by the expenditure on an unproven commodity.
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“Every player that’s playing the game wants the biggest and best contract you can get personally.
“If they were in his position, they would sign the contract as well.
“But I understand from their point of view that they’ve been in the game, they’ve been serving the game a lot longer than he was, and he’s just coming in and signing this big deal. But that’s on Rugby Australia, that’s on the board, that’s on those guys that are deciding to make these decisions.”
Concluding the Sua’ali’i discussion, the former code hopper was asked about which position he felt the Roosters winger’s skillset would be best suited to.
“I think he could play fullback because early on when I first made the switchover, I never kicked either. So that’s something, that’s a skill set.
‘Playing the game in school will help his transition, and I think he could probably play wing and even 13. He’s quite a big body, he’s athletic, he’s quick, so hopefully he can get some ball at centre too.”
