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One Folau's loss is set to be another Folau's gain: The ironic sibling twist in the Israel Folau saga

Israel Folau. Photo / Getty Images

Israel Folau’s impending banishment from the Waratahs is set to hand his younger brother, John, a chance to prove his worth.

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24-year-old wing John is still yet to make his Super Rugby debut since switching codes from the Parramatta Eels in the NRL, despite having been named on the bench during the Waratahs’ 29-31 loss to the Sunwolves in Newcastle last month.

John can now expect to make his debut sooner rather than later as Israel has been stood down by Rugby Australia and the New South Wales Rugby Union following comments made on social media platforms where he condemned gay people to hell, with his contract expected to be terminated.

Although John is also being deeply religious like his brother, Waratahs halfback Nick Phipps told Fox Sports the sticky sibling situation isn’t a problem for the New South Wales club as they prepare for an important Australian derby against the Rebels in Sydney on Saturday.

John Folau during his stint with the Parramatta Eels. Photo by Ashley Feder/Getty Images

“You can go around and have a laugh with him (John), have a joke, just let him know it’s not awkward, it’s no reflection on him,” Phipps said.

“He’s also a very passionate Christian man and we fully respect that, but for him we just want him to feel comfortable in his place at work.”

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While maintaining that the saga has not impacted John, Phipps did concede that the team as whole has been affected by the off-field drama.

“It’s obviously a distraction, it’s been going on for nearly two weeks now,” the Wallabies halfback said on Tuesday.

“The fact that there was such a such a huge press conference about it yesterday… it was not too far from our vision every day.”

The Waratahs and Rebels will name their sides for their upcoming clash on Thursday.

Watch – Nick Phipps speaks to media:

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Nickers 28 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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