Wallabies fullback Israel Folau is hitting the line at full speed as he battles Bok legend Bryan Habana for the mantle of rugby’s finest finisher.
With readers given control of the debate in this poll series, Habana cut short Shane Williams’ streak in the previous round, beating the Welsh winger by a resounding 91% of the vote.
Williams had previously fended off competition from England’s Chris Ashton in the opening round, followed by New Zealand’s Doug Howlett, but he was no match for Habana in round three.
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The latest entrant and Habana’s next challenger, Folau is widely regarded as one of the most prodigious finishers of the modern game.
Equally as lethal at wing or fullback, Folau notched an incredible 37 tries in just 73 appearances for Australia, is a three-time Wallabies’ Player of the Year winner (2014, 2015 and 2017), won a Super Rugby title with the Waratahs in 2014, and picked-up the Rugby Championship winners medal with the Wallabies a year later.
First plying his trade in Rugby League and Aussie Rules, Folau only made the switch to Union in 2013 when he joined the Waratahs in Super Rugby.
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Wasting no time in getting stuck in, Folau scored his first Super Rugby try on debut, 47 minutes into the Waratahs’ clash with the Reds. He went on to play in 14 of the Waratahs’ 16 matches, scoring eight tries to finish tied second overall for the season. To this day, he is Super Rugby’s all-time top try scorer with 60 five-pointers to his name.
Acquiring a knack for producing on debut, Folau scored twice in his first match for the Wallabies, bagging two tries against the British & Irish Lions in the opening Test of the 2013 tour. He is Australia’s fourth highest try-scorer of all time despite playing much less rugby than the three players ranked above him.
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