Israel Folau ‘disappointed’ at Rugby Australia over British & Irish Lions snub

Israel Folau while playing for the Wallabies. Photo / Photosport

Former Wallabies star Israel Folau has hit out at Rugby Australia (RA) CEO Phil Waugh after the governing body ruled him ineligible to play against the British & Irish Lions later this year.

Folau hasn’t played in Australia since 2019 after RA tore up his multi-million dollar contract for breaching their code of conduct following a flurry of social media posts that were deemed homophobic.

After hearing Waugh was “open to the idea” of picking the 36-year-old for a combined Australia-New Zealand XV to face the Lions, Folau publicly declared his desire to play, telling Newscorp it would be an “awesome opportunity” to play in front of family.

But days later, Waugh slammed the door shut on Folau, saying a return was “never discussed” he didn’t qualify to play in the invitational match because of switching his international allegiance to Tonga.

In an Instagram post, Folau, who is now based in Japan, said the decision is “very disappointing” adding that he wouldn’t have spoken publicly if he did not believe RA supported his return.

“I just wanted to address a couple of things in regards to a few media articles that have been floating around the past week in relation to me playing in this Anzac v Lions game later this year and how this all came about,” Folau said on Instagram.

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“I was contacted last week by Jamie Pandaram, who is a journalist from Sydney, and he was in conversations with Phil Waugh, and Phil had told him that he was open to the idea of me being involved in this game if I was interested in that.

“And so Jamie reached out to a good friend of mine - [former Wallaby] Sekope Kepu - and told him the same thing and made the connection between myself and Jamie.

“I did the interview last week and told him that I was definitely interested in that opportunity as I think anyone would in my position.

“Being a professional rugby player, these opportunities don’t come around too often and so I told him I was very interested. If I was fit and selected, it was a game that I’d love to be a part of.

“But recently Phil has come out and shut that down completely for whatever reason and said that I was not eligible to play this game nor was there any discussions around me being involved in this game as well.

“So, look, I’m very disappointed around those comments, particularly after what I was told from Jamie and the conversations he had with Phil.

“It’s disappointing from my point of view, otherwise, I wouldn’t have put myself, I guess, in this position. But you know, it is what it is and I just wanted to address that and I wanted to wish Rugby Australia and Phil Waugh all the best and all the success for the remainder of the season.”

The Lions tour every four years, with the tours rotating between Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

It will be the first time since 1989 the Lions will play an invitational Australia and New Zealand side.

Former All Blacks head coach Ian Foster will lead the combined side, which is set to feature a host of former New Zealand internationals currently playing in Japan.