Wallabies five-eighth Bernard Foley is back to his best with the boot but has heaped praise on Israel Folau, saying the fullback has grown to a new level in what will surely go down as his most outstanding year in a gold jersey.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Saturday, during Australia's 45-20 win over Argentina in the nation's capital, Folau became the first Wallaby to score four doubles in a year.
He scored two tries in all three June matches and has now chalked up 10 tries from just seven matches in 2017.
Folau has equalled his Australian record, a mark he reached in 2013 and shares with Lote Tuqiri who notched up 10 tries from 12 matches in 2004.
After a lean start to the season with the Waratahs, where he managed three five-pointers in the first nine rounds, Folau has scored 16 tries in his last 13 games of rugby dating back to round 11 in Super Rugby.
The Wallabies have played half of their 14 Tests this year and while it may seem a little premature, Folau is within reach of the world record set by Daisuke Ohata (Japan) and Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand) for the most tries in a calendar year (17).
Foley has played in every game alongside Folau and gets a better view than anyone of the attacking prowess he has demonstrated this year.
"He's been exceptional for us and his input around training, around games has been something that I've seen him grow to a new level," Foley said. "[It is] something he probably hasn't really excelled or tried to do in the past but I think he's really developing and maturing as a player and you saw [on Saturday] him just getting involved, wanting that ball, wanting to be in the play rather than letting the play come to him.
"He went and found the ball and he scored some good tries but it was the stuff off the ball, his work-rate and his attacking prowess that set up those games."
Meanwhile, after a night in Dunedin last month he would rather forget, Australia's first choice-kicker has regained his mojo with the boot.
Foley nailed all of his conversions and a penalty in the sixth minute, meaning he has not missed a kick in the Rugby Championship outside of the second Bledisloe match where he went two from six.
"It was very disappointing," said Foley of the Dunedin fixture that Australia lost 35-29. "Whenever you're kicking, you want to kick your best and that game was disappointing.
"It wasn't something I really want to reflect back on but I wanted to keep my preparation pretty consistent. It was one game and I suppose you're only as good as your last kick.
"My mentality was to keep working on things, keep improving and with the likes of Mick Byrne, keep working on it.
"The last two games it's done well and I have just got to keep it continuing."
Foley copped a knock to his eye socket during the game and the area swelled up after the match because he blew his nose in the shower.
There were concerns Foley might have picked up a hairline fracture but Wallabies officials are confident he will make a full recovery and won't spend time on the sidelines.
Foley does not feel like there is a sense of relief among the Wallabies after they picked up their first win of the Rugby Championship from four attempts.
"We didn't think of it that way," Foley said. "We came here to control what we can control and we don't want to look in the past or look to the external factors. Throughout this whole Rugby Championship the belief amongst the squad's been really high and everyone has been working extremely hard.
"We know the satisfaction's going to come but we've got to continue to do that work and go out there and persist with the way we want to play and not fall back on our laurels."
