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Folau signs new contract to stay in France

Israel Folau is staying with the Catalan Dragons. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Israel Folau will be staying in France for at least another season after signing a new contract with the Catalan Dragons. The Dragons have confirmed that despite ‘strong interest’ in the player, the controversial Australian has agreed a new one-year deal that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2021 season.

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Folau signed with the Catalan Dragons in January after being sacked by Rugby Australia for writing homophobic posts on social media.

In April of last year, Folau posted a message on Instagram which read: “Those that are living in Sin will end up in Hell unless you repent.” The message was accompanied by an image which contained a list including “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, idolators.”

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    An out-of-court settlement followed in December, with Folau then returning to rugby league, the code where he first made his name professionally.

    Folau began his rugby league career in 2007 with the Melbourne Storm before moving to Brisbane Broncos. He also represented Queensland in the State of Origin and lined out for Australia before changing to union. 

    The 31-year-old had recently been linked with a return to the NRL, but will instead be saying with the Dragons after agreeing a new deal.

    “Me and my family are very excited to stay on at the club for season 2021,” Folau said.

    “We’re very grateful for the opportunity that Bernard Guasch and the Dragons have given me. I’m looking forward to working hard and achieving great success on the field with my team mates and this great club.”

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    “We are delighted that Israel has committed to the Dragons for 2021,” added Steve McNamara, Dragons head coach.

    “The most impressive asset he showed in the short period before the confinement was his willingness to work hard for the team.

    “On top of that he clearly is a great athlete with a tremendous skill set. We look forward to seeing him continually improve and have an even greater influence over the team’s performances through 2020 and 2021.

    Bernard Gauch, Dragons chairman, described Folau as a ‘highly demanded player.’

    “His decision to stay at the club for one more season honours him,” Gauch said.

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    “Once the media storm that followed his signing passed, and after only three Super League appearances, he received many requests and became a highly demanded player. But he feels gratitude for the club.

    “He has shown he is a respectful player since he arrived at the club. He will be 32 years old at the end of his new contract and we will then think about the rest of his career.”

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    W
    Werner 8 minutes ago
    URC teams aren't proving Stephen Donald wrong

    3 things:


    1) I don't think you have an understanding of what sort of politics goes on in SA, you are assuming it's very competitive and performance focused same as NZ, I can tell you it's a lot greyer and more ambiguous but green and gold goes along way in greasing wheels. Often revenue at the state and national level are prized more by some in the SARU despite the impact of accepting it, but you will never heard them own it.


    2) While we're comparing national teams performance to gauge the ‘domestic’ comps, you do realise that both Ireland and Scotland are higher in rankings and have better recent record than Fiji and Australia who are in the SRP right? And when was the last time either of them made a final in SR? 2014! But here's the thing…. I never said URC is better than SRP, imo they are about the same each with their benefits and different style. Where as you harp on about how crap URC teams are but not why SRP is better. Have SRP teams faired better against European teams? No? So how do you know and ‘demonstrate’ this inferiority? both have a range of good and bad countries competing (URC has slightly more higher ranked teams). Both are dominated historically by one country and team (Leinster/crusaders). So what is this demonstrable fact I'm missing? What's the point of difference other than subjective opinion


    3) let me understand this, the only decent team in the URC is Leinster as they are good enough to make Eurochamps finals but not good enough to make the finals of the URC the last 2 years. So they despite beating Leinster (the EC finalists and good team) the other URC teams are still crap?

    50 Go to comments
    P
    PR 32 minutes ago
    'Love him or hate him, Henry Pollock has got the rugby world talking.'

    There are degrees of taunting. In my opinion Pollock is slightly OTT. Nothing offensive, just what Australians call “a goose”. Like James Lowe and Ben Earl. Celebrating wildly and often towards the crowd throughout the game. “Plastic energy” as Bongi calls it. It’s the kind of behaviour that turns a hostile crowd more hostile and motivates opponents even more - so probably works against your own team. Pollock is young and having the time of his life so his antics are understandable but I think most people find that kind of showboating annoying - hence the ‘love him or hate him’ tag.


    The reason why the behaviour of Pollock makes headlines is because it is still quite rare in rugby. Your examples go back to 1974, 2003 and 2022. Of course there are chirps between players during a game but what Pollock is doing is more like the showboating you see after a touchdown in NFL. He’s not the only one of course. Just about every Stormers try comes with an elaborate handshake or routine. Perhaps the future of rugby is more like NFL but I reckon it will always be annoying to a lot of people.


    Also, unless you are Matt Williams or Gregor Townsend, 6-2/7-1 was never against the spirit of the game. It’s an argument brought up by pundits to get attention or frustrated coaches who are trying to justify poor results. Most coaches, players and supporters get it. Even World Rugby gave it the thumbs up. It should be celebrated for its innovation.

    11 Go to comments
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