Folau has such talent, as evidenced by his NRL, AFL and now rugby performances, that he was able to produce some outstanding individual performances on the wing and cope with the game at the top level. It was no more at that stage.
Playing fullback where he is so dynamic took a lot more time to nail down.
There were all the nuances of the game which were second nature to most of the blokes he played with while Folau had to cram his knowledge into a compressed timeframe.
He creates such an extra dimension of damage for the Wallabies from the back where his speed, anticipation and vision get him to places to create huge problems with the ball or as a decoy.
Anyone who has seen his sustained work on the tackle or under the high ball knows what an asset he is for the Wallabies.
Burgess has played rugby for less than a year, is used as a loose forward by his Bath club and has pushed his way into England's RWC squad as a midfield back.
It is a massive result from a formidable athlete but it underlines a few of England's issues rather than promoting his value.
Burgess still has his L-plates on and asking him to fill midfield duties against one of the major nations would be a massive task.
Even SBW looks to be battling in his second tilt at rugby; the game has not been flowing for him and he's had more experience than Burgess in the midfield turmoil in rugby. Confidence and game time are big parts of SBW's make-up but his injury has impacted on both.
As we rub the RWC crystal ball, it's easy to make out the impact Folau will have on the tournament but there's a definite blur about the others.
