'It's been awesome': Ex-Wallabies star Israel Folau primed for Tonga debut
Controversial former Wallabies star Israel Folau is primed to make his long-awaited return to test rugby when Tonga open their Pacific Nations Cup campaign this weekend.
One of many former international stars to be included in the ‘Ikale Tahi squad for the upcoming tournament in Fiji, Folau is joined in the Tonga set-up by former All Blacks trio Malakai Fekitoa, Charles Piutau and Augustine Pulu.
All four players are available to play for Tonga under World Rugby’s new eligibility laws, which allows test-capped players to represent a second country that they are eligible for via birthright following a three-year international stand down period.
That has paved the way for Folau to make his highly-anticipated return to the test arena against Fiji in Suva this Saturday, a prospect the 33-year-old outside back said he is eagerly anticipating.
“It’s been awesome to be in camp with the ‘Ikale Tahi,” Folau told the Tonga Rugby Union social media channels earlier this week.
“For me, to come back to the team, with the opportunity to connect with the boys, back with the culture, and also a big part of that is our faith in God.
“It’s been a great week so far, and we’re looking forward to spending time with the boys over the next five weeks.”
Folau’s return to the international fold has been a long time coming given it has been four years since he last played internationally, as he won the last of his 73 caps for Australia against England in November 2018.
Since then, Folau has been the subject of one of the highest-profile and most-documented sackings in the sport’s history when he was fired by Rugby Australia [RA] for making anti-gay social media posts in 2019.
Folau and RA reached an out-of-court settlement after the triple-code star sued his former employers for A$14m in what was the beginning of a long road back to the test arena.
Formerly an NRL star who also tried his hand in the AFL, Folau followed his dismissal from RA by returning to rugby league, where he turned out for the France-based Catalans Dragons in the Super League two years ago.
A season in Europe’s premier rugby league competition was followed by a brief stint in the third tier of Queensland rugby league, where he played for the Southport Tigers before signing with the Shining Arcs in Japan Rugby League One.
Despite a difficult campaign for the Shining Arcs, in which they finished 10th in League One’s top division and were relegated into division two after losing a playoff series against the Mitsubishi Dynaboars last month, Folau starred upon his rugby union return.
Scoring 10 tries in 12 matches, Folau’s prolific strike rate was reminiscent of his time in Super Rugby, where he remains the competition’s all-time top try-scorer.
That kind of form made it an easy decision for ‘Ikale Tahi head coach Toutai Kefu to call Folau into the Tongan national squad for the Pacific Nations Cup, which will be followed by a World Cup qualifier against either Hong Kong or South Korea next month.
“He’s fitted into the group seamlessly, he’s just one of the boys. He’s a mature young man who goes about his business,” Kefu told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“No-one’s really talked about [the past], he’s just looking forward and trying to be himself and fit in, which he’s doing seamlessly.
“The boys love him and, no matter who you are, this mob will bring you down to earth very quickly. There’s a lot of banter and laughter and that just builds our connection.”
Kefu will reveal his first Tonga squad under World Rugby’s new eligibility laws on Thursday, when he is expected to name Folau on the wing in an outside back trio that should also feature Piutau at fullback.
The new-look powerhouse Tongan outfit will then take on Fiji at ANZ National Stadium at 3:30pm local time on Saturday before they take on Samoa and Australia A at Churchill Park in Lautoka over the following fortnight.
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments