Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Why a Wallabies player 'burst into laughter' at Israel Folau's extraordinary claim

Israel Folau. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

By NZ Herald

Peter FitzSimons has rubbished Israel Folau’s claims that he could’ve captained the Wallabies to a World Cup triumph.

Folau, who was sacked for anti-gay comments made on social media this year, is now demanding $14 million in damages from Rugby Australia, claiming he could have been Wallabies skipper.

The cross-code star lodged an updated statement of claim in the Federal Court, where he’s increasing his demands from $10 million to $14 million.

Continue reading below…

ADVERTISEMENT
Video Spacer

Former Wallaby and rugby writer FitzSimons slammed Folau’s latest claims and his “worrying” beliefs about gay marriage and bushfires.

“It just gets ever more absurd,” FitzSimons told TVNZ.

“From a distance, I just thought, ‘What? Captain?’… but Michael Cheika, who was the Wallabies coach of course, he moved through seven vice captains.

“Now, if Michael Cheika had seven vice captains and Israel Folau wasn’t one of them, I think by definition he was a very unlikely man to be captain.”

FitzSimons said he told a current Wallaby, who he didn’t name, about Folau’s captaincy claim and the player “burst into laughter”.

https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1200178226603024384

“The last time Australian rugby had a fullback as captain was in 1980. It was Paul McLean, it was one Test, and after that the theory in Australian rugby was that fullback was too far from the main game to be the captain, so the tradition in Australian rugby is we don’t have a fullback as a captain.

“I find the claim absolutely absurd.”

Folau also returned to headlines recently for claiming that Australia’s bushfires, which killed six people, were a result of legalising same-sex marriage and abortion, which FitzSimons said was “worrying”.

“It doesn’t have the closest grip on reality and I worry about that kind of stuff.

“If he actually believes that, then I respectfully submit his remaining friends need to sit him down, give him a hug and say, ‘C’mon mate, we’ve got to get you some help here. This is not real.'”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5RjyM6gi5h/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Folau said his contract termination will cost him $4.2 million from 2019-2022, as well as $300,000 in match payments from 2019-2021.

He also claims he stood to make up to $1.5 million a season with an overseas club for two-to-three years when his contract with RA was up.

Lost sponsorship dollars, and the missed revenue of competing at World Cups and possibly captaining the national team were also used to justify the controversial star’s new $14 million demand.

This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and was republished with permission.

In other news:

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

HSBC SVNS Singapore 2025 | Day Two Men's Highlights

HSBC SVNS Singapore 2025 | Day Two Women's Highlights

Jet Lag: The biggest challenge facing international sports? | The Report

Boks Office | Episode 39 | The Investec Champions Cup is back

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry? | New Zealand & Australia | Sevens Wonders | Episode 5

Kobelco Kobe Steelers vs Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

The Rise of Kenya | The Report

The Fixture: How This Rugby Rivalry Has Lasted 59 Years

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Johnsonfidelis 3 hours ago
Gareth Anscombe returns as Gloucester makes 7 changes for Bath

I got a call from a trader for the first time in August 2024. Less than a ”

I got a call from a trader for the first time in August 2024. Less than a year later, through a fabricated process of baiting me with unbelievable profits, and matching my losses, I was in over $185,000. The platform had assigned my personal broker to me, that called me from time to time to tell me about their new offers. And they said he was one of their top brokers, they further told me the broker had made a lot of people so rich. The broker told me there was an insurance that they get on them, every trade that we do that's secured and we could never lose money, he will put in there that it's an insured secure trade, and they buy the insurance for it. so i was assured, I won't lose any money on if we lose. Okay? But the catch is, you have to bring in an additional $25,000 in order to get that secured trade status on your account. I stupidly did this. Once I hit a certain profit level, I tried to remove money from them. That's when they denied me being able to take out my own money. They also told me to pay an additional fee to bring out my money. I was blocked out of my accounts and denied withdrawal even after i contacted them in various ways. Of course they never told me that additional of $25k from the beginning. So when I heard that, then it was pretty obvious to me that they were running a scam.I was very sad and confused after investing a lot. Earlier this year February 15th 2025, i was able to get my invested capital back including profit and the $25k additional fees with the help of the INTELLIGENCE CYBER WIZARD Assets Recovery (You can contact them below). They offer the best in monetary recovery if you are victim of cryptocurrency fraud, binary options fraud, real estate Investment fraud and many more.

G-mail: intelligencecyberwizard@gmail.com

WhatsApp: + 1 2 1 9 4 2 4 7 5 6 6

Proton mail: intelligencecyberwizard@proton

.me

0 Go to comments
K
Katy Martin 4 hours ago
Duhan van der Merwe's Lions tour thrown into doubt

As a truck driver who spends long hours on the road, I understand the value of hard work. My job demands long shifts, constant focus, and time away from loved ones. To make extra income during my limited downtime, I started mining cryptocurrency. After months of dedication, I finally saved enough to buy BITCOIN through P2P on Binance. It felt like a major milestone. I was proud of what I had built, turning my effort into BITCOIN, an asset I believed in. That pride quickly turned into heartbreak. Someone I trusted scammed me out of $85,000 worth of BITCOIN in a single transaction. I was crushed. I had sacrificed sleep, missed out on time with friends and family, and worked relentlessly, only to have everything taken from me in seconds. The emotional and financial blow was devastating. Still, I was not ready to give up. I started researching ways to recover stolen BITCOIN and came across TECH CYBER FORCE RECOVERY. I saw countless testimonials from people who had lost cryptocurrency and managed to recover it with their help. Desperate but hopeful, I reached out and shared my story. To my complete shock, TECH CYBER FORCE RECOVERY managed to trace and recover my stolen BITCOIN within just 21 hours. The funds were safely returned to my wallet. I cannot describe the relief I felt. Months of hard work were not wasted after all. My belief in BITCOIN as a store of value had been shaken, but thanks to TECH CYBER FORCE RECOVERY, I got a second chance. Even more incredible, their team helped law enforcement track down the scammer responsible. That person was arrested, and justice was served. I could finally breathe again, knowing that the person who took advantage of my trust was held accountable. If you have lost BITCOIN or other crypto to a scam, whether through fake investments, phishing schemes, or fraudulent platforms, do not lose hope. TECH CYBER FORCE RECOVERY specializes in recovering stolen BITCOIN and other digital assets, even from apps like Binance, Cash App, or Coinbase. Their team is fast, trustworthy, and truly committed to helping victims like me. Losing BITCOIN you worked hard for is painful, but recovery is possible. Reach out to TECH CYBER FORCE RECOVERY today and take back control of your financial future. CONSUL THEM wa.me/15617263697

2 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING 'Caelan Doris... I’m not sure he gets in the Lions back row at the moment' Caelan Doris doesn't get 'in the Lions back row at the moment'
Search