Israel Folau spotted at Wallabies training for first time in seven years

1 month ago 7

Exiled star Israel Folau has been sighted at Wallabies training for the first time in almost seven years after Joe Schmidt’s squad borrowed the facilities of his Top League club on the outskirts of Tokyo on Tuesday.

The Wallabies bumped into the former Test fullback and more recent teammate Samu Kerevi after training at the headquarters of the Urusaya D-Rocks in Chiba, on the shores of Tokyo Bay and near Tokyo Disneyland.

Having toured with the Wallabies last year, Kerevi caught up with teammates while Folau spent time with current star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, who regards Folau as a mentor.

The sight of Folau mingling with the Wallabies, and the team’s official Instagram account subsequently posting the photos, is a sign that perhaps time has healed some once raw wounds.

Folau has been at the D-Rocks since 2022, three years after his Rugby Australia contract was torn up in 2019 over a series of homophobic posts on social media. Folau sued RA and after a war bitterly fought out in the public domain, the parties subsequently settled for an undisclosed amount.

The star fullback, who played 63 Tests for Australia and won two John Eales medals, never played for the Wallabies again, however, and later switched allegiance to Tonga.

Israel Folau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at Wallabies training in Tokyo, with other D-Rocks players.

Folau is now rarely seen in any official marketing or social media content put out by Rugby Australia.

But the 36-year-old remains an influential figure in Australian rugby, in the sense he is close to the Wallabies’ newest million-dollar recruit, Suaalii, and helped convince him to follow in his footsteps and make the switch from the NRL to rugby.

Suaalii first met Folau when he was 14, and was invited to several Wallabies training sessions in Sydney. The visits were part of Rugby Australia’s attempt to recruit the teenage phenomenon, and while it was unsuccessful, Suaalii and Folau remained in contact and struck up a friendship. Suaalii spoke about his admiration for Folau last year, soon after making the switch from league.

“I actually met Israel when I was 14, I really looked up to him when I was younger,” Suaalii said. “For a young kid, I really wanted to ask a lot of questions. I feel like that has been one of my strengths, just learning. And I feel like Israel was someone I could look up to and ask questions to; every now and then I do catch up with him, and he’s a great mentor in my life.

Joseph‑Aukuso Suaalii runs against the All Blacks.

“Izzy is a man that doesn’t speak a lot, but it’s more his actions that I’ve picked up on. He’s a great man first of all and I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve learnt – to always be a great man outside of footy.”

Meanwhile, Wallabies halfback Jake Gordon said there would be no time wasted on trying to prove a point with former coach Eddie Jones this week, ahead of the team’s Test clash with Japan in Tokyo.

The Aussie side take on Jones’ Japan at the Japanese National Stadium, and the subtext is that several of the Wallabies players – including Gordon, captain Harry Wilson and centre Hunter Paisami – were contentiously overlooked by Jones for selection for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Gordon was quick to shut down the notion that they would be keen to dish up some revenge to Jones.

“I don’t think that’s the mindset for the week. We’re focused on the game and focused on putting on a really good performance,” Gordon said.

“We need to be aware of the threats that Japan pose. And in saying that, we need to focus on ourselves and make sure that we’re best prepared for this game.

“We’ve watched quite a lot of tape around the Japanese team. What we do know is they play from anywhere. They like to play a really quick game of rugby.

“You’ve almost got to expect the unexpected. They’re very happy to run for a deep in their own end. And when they get that super quick ball, they’re really hard to contain. And like I just said, the physical battle up front will dictate the speed of ball, which will be really important.”