Bernard Foley rates Highlanders and All Blacks fullback Ben Smith as the best in the world. Photo / Getty Images
Bernard Foley rates Highlanders and All Blacks fullback Ben Smith as the best in the world. Photo / Getty Images
Bernard Foley has hailed Ben Smith as the best fullback in the world as the Waratahs plan to pepper the All Blacks star with pinpoint kicks in Saturday's crucial Super Rugby clash.
While boasting Israel Folau in his own side, Foley said Highlanders co-captain Smith is the premier No.15 inthe game and must be shut down from counterattacking raids if NSW is to turn around the disaster of last week's loss to the Crusaders.
"They're a high-kicking team and they love to play off unstructured possession, off turnovers, so if we're guilty there, if we kick poorly to them, they're a team that really likes to counter," Foley said.
"They've got a really dangerous back three, they've got probably the world's best fullback and then [Waisake] Naholo is pretty dangerous on the wing as well."
Folau and Smith will go head-to-head at Allianz Stadium in an aerial battle and likely reprise the rivalry in August when the Wallabies face the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup, although Smith has also been shifted to wing to accommodate Jordie Barrett and Damian McKenzie.
Foley will need to steer the Tahs with a precision boot and pressure the Highlanders in their own end.
Israel Folau attempts to tackle Ben Smith during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final. Photo / Getty Images
The five-eighth has come under fire for his form this year, which has been linked to no other playmakers pressuring him for the Wallabies' No.10 jersey, but Foley said he didn't need to rely on rivals breathing down his neck.
"Hopefully not, I like to think I'm intrinsically motivated and the fire burns within," Foley said.
"I don't need that external pressure or motivation to lift me.
"There are enough guys around me who drive me and inspire me to be the best player I can be, so that's how I try to approach every day, go out there and get the most out of it and be the best player I can be.
"Hopefully that improves my standard.
"The thing about the form, that's on an individual basis but that's not what I judge myself on. I'm mainly [judging myself] on how the team is going and what I can do to help this team and get the outcomes we want."
Bernard Foley rates Highlanders and All Blacks fullback Ben Smith as the best in the world. Photo / Getty Images
Foley missed two pivotal penalty kicks in Christchurch last Saturday as the Crusaders came from 0-29 down to beat NSW 31-29 in the greatest comeback in Super Rugby history.
But with a history of also nailing matchwinning goals — the 2014 Super Rugby final, and 2015 World Cup quarter-final against Scotland the most famous — Foley is confident goalkicking won't be an ongoing issue.
"What do the fans remember more? Probably the ones you kick," Foley said.
"As a kicker I suppose it's the journey we go on in professional sport, the highs and the lows. It's that rollercoaster that we're forever living in between.
"It's just trying to be consistent in your prep, consistent in your routine, so that under pressure you can go back and do your job.
"When you miss those kicks, it definitely hurts and you feel the added weight, but in saying that, with the respect of the team I know they're going to do the job so they have all the faith in me.
"I have kicked well in games or stretches, but that's something I want to do throughout the whole season, not kick well for five games then have a shocker and drop the percentage."
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