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'I will miss rugby' - Israel Folau breaks silence

Israel Folau

Israel Folau says he will miss rugby but is prepared to walk away from the sport without a fight for the sake of his faith.

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In his first interview since posting homophobic messages on social media on Wednesday, Folau wouldn’t back down on his actions and said he would be prepared to accept his fate from rugby authorities.

The Waratahs have stood the star Wallabies fullback down indefinitely while Rugby Australia is likely to rip up his lucrative four-year deal for a breach of contract.

Folau spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald after he and netball star wife Maria attended a church service in suburban Sydney.

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The 30-year-old denied reports that he would consider taking legal action if Rugby Australia severed ties.

He said he would regard such a decision as “God’s will”.

“First and foremost, I live for God now. Whatever he wants me to do, I believe his plans for me are better than whatever I can think. If that’s not to continue on playing , so be it,” Folau said.

“In saying that, obviously I love playing footy and if it goes down that path I’ll definitely miss it. But my faith in Jesus Christ is what comes first.”

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Folau said his beliefs hadn’t been swayed by the waves of criticism directed at him.

“Absolutely not. I’ll stand on what the Bible says. I share it with love. I can see the other side of the coin where people’s reactions are the total opposite to how I’m sharing it.”

Folau described the days since his posts as “tough” but said he wasn’t surprised and took comfort in what the bible says.

He says he feels love towards all the people who had vented a negative reaction.

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Nickers 19 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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