He’s made one of the most incredible transitions to rugby and still there’s no stopping the superstar that is Israel Folau. Following his impressive second year with the Waratahs, which ended triumphantly with the Super Rugby trophy, the skilled back continued to contribute to his beloved Waratahs in 2015. He topped the Super Rugby stats for most carries (231), most run metres (1677) and offloads, came second in the amount of defenders beaten and was on the leaderboard for the most clean breaks. For his efforts, Folau was named as the Waratahs’ Best Back and came second in the polling for the Matthew Burke Cup Players’ Player Award, behind Michael Hooper. Following another brilliant year in the Wallabies jersey, Folau was called upon for his first Rugby World Cup. Just prior to the tournament, he became the first player to win consecutive John Eales Medal in just his third year in rugby, joining George Smith and Nathan Sharpe as one of only three players to win the award twice. Folau made his international debut in 2013, after just 14 games in Super Rugby, against the British & Irish Lions at Suncorp Stadium, scoring the opening try.
