I will be extremely surprised if Cheika does not start Izzy in the centres this season. He is too good a footballer to be wasted at the back in what is, essentially, a defensive position. Plus he does not seem to me to have developed the rugby instinct to know when and how to inject himself at the set pieces. Put him in the centres, give him a clear role to play, and watch him dominate the best oppositions.
That is not to say that he is not a very good full-back, it is simply a recognition that he is likely to do more harm closer to the action.
Disagree. Very, very much.
Fullback is not a defensive position, all you need to do is look at Australia's history of attacking fullbacks. Since going professional, we've had Burke and Latham, and going back to guys like, say, Roeback and Campo. Roff is another who could play some fullback, and we've also had Rogers and Beale play there.
Some of the guys mentioned are outstanding attacking players - Campo, Latham, Burke, Beale. None were known as defensive first, not even Burke.
If you want current examples, the best two fullbacks in the world (with arguably Folau) are Halfpenny and Dagg, again, neither known for their defence.
Mate, good 15s will touch the ball a lot more than the 13 in a match.
Folau for me is a fullback first and foremost. His ability under the highball is key - you essentially nullify a key tactic. We have no other safe fullbacks under the high ball - Beale is less than a 50/50 proposition most of the time. I recall that in the second Lions test Beale took 1 from 3 high balls.
Outside centre isn't an easy position to play well, either. Just look at how few good ones there are in the world. We haven't had a good one since Mortlock, and before that we were lucky enough to have Herbert and Little, who were generally head and shoulders over anyone else we had.
I find it extremely unlikely that you could throw Folau into 13 and expect him to dominate the best opponents. Maybe after this Super season you could tell if he was suited to 13 or not.
This is a touch call for the Tahs, because I think that 15 is also Beale's best position. Beale is a fantastic attacking player, but I'd say he is probably weaker than Folau on defence. Even in the Lions tour where I thought Beale was well off form (and he definitely shouldn't have played) you could see the spark he provides as he adds that second playmaker who bobs up anywhere. I'd think seriously about starting Beale from the bench as a utility, and let him play his way into the side somewhere.
