Lote Tuqiri tips Israel Folau's Lion hunt to be instant hit Wallabies utility Berrick Barnes could be a shock selection at fullback for Saturday's Test against the British and Irish Lions. ISRAEL Folau can rattle the Lions with such impact on Saturday night it can kickstart a 50-Test career, such is the Big Bang Theory of his pioneering predecessor, Lote Tuqiri. If there is a Wallaby feared by the British and Irish Lions, it is the 103kg powderkeg, who will make his Test debut on the wing. They have no clue whether targeting him is sense or stupidity because he is a rookie like few others. Fear him with good reason is the nod from dual-international Tuqiri. Tuqiri said pundits should give up trying to peg how fast and how well Folau had made the jump to rugby compared to his own a decade ago. "He's already made a quicker transition than I did and he's ready to make a big mark on Test rugby right from the start," was Tuqiri's generous prediction for Folau. That's a huge vote of confidence in Folau, considering Tuqiri took Test rugby by storm with 15 tries across 2003-04. This after being eased in with four cameos from the bench, a luxury that Folau must do without. Remarkably, the worlds of two of Australian rugby's boldest big-money gambles on NRL-nurtured talent collided at a Brisbane hotel last Sunday. WARM UP: Israel Folau hits stride at training on the Sunshine Coast. Folau was checking in almost at the same time as the beret-wearing Tuqiri appeared in the foyer. The injured Tuqiri was in town with his Wests Tigers for last night's NRL clash against the Brisbane Broncos. "I said back in February that if I saw a smile on his face, he'd had a good season with the Waratahs and played Test rugby, it would cement his feelings for staying in rugby," Tuqiri said. There is a heap of speculation about what he'll do next year (with a possible return to the NRL). But No.1 right now is he is enjoying rugby, learning with a better calibre of player around him and can have a 50-Test go in the game if he chooses. The way the Lions are playing may really suit his game. He's a massive X-factor to light up the field if the Wallabies have a crack or the Lions give him a loose kick to run back. Young Queensland flanker Liam Gill gave a glimpse of the confidence the Wallabies had gained from Folau's calm assimilation. Seriously, I've not seen him drop a high ball in two weeks of training. I didn't realise the incredible athlete he is and how big he plays," Gill said. Such firepower is essential to repel the ferocious onslaught of the opening 10 minutes that the Wallabies have been constantly drilled to expect from the Lions, who scored after two minutes in the 2001 series opener. Utility back Berrick Barnes said "there is more excitement for this series than there was before the (2011) World Cup among the rugby public." "I don't think Izzy will be daunted with the size of games he's played, particularly in Origin because the pressure on the guys there is extreme," Barnes said. He'll have nerves, but it's nice to have those feelings for what is the biggest game since the World Cup.