Israel Folau played his last test for the Wallabies against England in November 2018. On Saturday, he returns to Test rugby representing Tonga.
A change in World Rugby’s eligibility criteria allowing players to switch allegiance to a country where they have a birthright, has allowed Folau along with former All Blacks Charles Piutau and Malakai Fekitoa, join Tonga for the revived Pacifc Nations Cup, featuring Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and Australia A.
Israel Folau. (Paul Kane/Getty Images)
The new rule requires players to have waited three years since last representing their previous country at test level. Fortunately for Tonga, Folau was stood down by Rugby Australia in early 2019, a debacle the hardly seems three years ago.
The new rule is set to give the greatest benefit to the pacific nations, with many of the worlds best players having pacific nations heritage, and these nations have also often seen their best home grown players defect to tier one nations.
Folau has been playing rugby most recently for the Shining Arcs in the Japanese Top League, previously playing rugby league for the Catalan Dragons in the English Super League.
Controversy aside, this new rule adds an exciting boost to the Pacific Nations Cup. Folau will line up on the wing with former All Black and Bristol Bears star Charles Piutau starting at full back.
Piutau is rumoured to be the highest paid player in the English Premiership on approximately £1,000,000 a season. Piutau played 17 times for the All Blacks and might not be particularly well known to Australians but he has been one of the best players in Europe for many years now.
The other big name, Malakai Fekitoa, will start at inside centre. Fekitoa has 24 caps for the All Blacks, winning the 2015 Rugby World Cup in the process. Former Wallaby lock/number 8 Lopeti Timani is also in the squad but has not been selected for this weekend.
Tonga has not rolled out players of this quality in the modern era and whilst three players, backs no less, will not make Tonga a genuine threat to consistently beat tier one teams, it does add a wild card factor to the landscape of world rugby.
For years Tongan rugby has been on the decline. Whilst Fiji and Samoa have more or less been able to at least tread water and occasionally produce memorable performances, Tonga seem to have struggled to be competitive at all.
As it stands Tonga are yet to qualify for the world cup but will do so by the end of next month and will feature in Pool B alongside South Africa, Scotland and Ireland.
It seems unlikely that even with these inclusions Tonga have any chance of progressing from the pool stage but it is highly possible, that they have the best player on the field in any one of these fixtures. And that these teams will need to turn up to beat them.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
To claim the PI nations are disadvantaged by NZ is just laughable. They gain far more than they lose and NZ is actively sort out so they can improve their life. You are claiming NZ raids their schools all the time for rugby players yet NZ had 4 OS born players at the last WC and tonga had 19...Samoa had 17.....born in NZ..... Who benifited the most?????
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Why does it upset you what other people choose to believe?
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Haha they would want a group hug and a prayer.... Not want to hurt people. They are beautiful people......
Double Agent
Guest
Well that's 'only' about 700k pounds.
Double Agent
Guest
" They must be moaning in their graves" I think if some poor bugger is moaning in his grave he's probably got a lot more on his mind than Israel Folau!! :shocked: :shocked: :laughing:
KenW
Roar Rookie
That part is closer to 3 thousand years old. But I don't understand what point you think you are making now either. The age of a story has nothing to do with it's accuracy. There's plenty of older mythologies that contradict theirs.
ozziedude
Roar Rookie
I don’t see why youre so troubled by this. My point stands about these kids in the islands being targeted with scholarships. As I said Nz isn’t the only threat but it’s a massive one. Once again you’re conflating different issues. Off the top of my head there’s Reece, Naholo, Fakatava, Fifita who’ve come thru this way. There’d be a ton more if I did a simple search. Once again my comment is not to be confused with the recent IRB ruling, and yr other comment about ‘ supplying players to PI teams’. Btw those players who do play for other teams won’t make the abs anyway, and they themselves have made huge contributions to Nz rugby thru the years, so to say in isolation Nz ‘ supplied them” as a simple zero sum transaction, is hardly accurate.
TRhing-me
Roar Rookie
Go tell them that the two thousand year old scriptures are wrong.
TRhing-me
Roar Rookie
Do you truly think those servicemen and women would have stood for the new age values that the bull-dozing chattering classes espouse of today? They must be moaning in their graves. That is the real Australian. Not the "CMF chocolate soldiers" who were forced to go up into the New Guinea highlands or else.
KenW
Roar Rookie
And I note he has pulled his head in at subsequent gigs Depends on your definition I suppose. He's stopped publicly declaring who deserves eternal punishment. Well since the bushfires anyway when that was clearly a punishment from God. He then welched out of his Catalans contract in a pretty cowardly way - told them he was coming to Sydney for a holiday but clearly never intended to return. He signed for a club side in Queensland, then sued the QRL because they wouldn't register the contract while the breach with Catalans was outstanding. Once that got resolved, he ran out on the club side that had signed him without playing a game. He doesn't tend to get good references from former employers....
KenW
Roar Rookie
Try telling face to face to the Tongan team you’re a bunch of “homophobes. Is the implication that they'll beat someone up if this was pointed out? I don't personally think that's true, but in what way do you think that supports your position?
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Do you have any actual knowlege of the number of Tongan and Samoan players that get rugby schollarships in NZ tho or are you just generalizing? Again how is it that NZ ended up supplying Tonga and Samoa 34 NZ born players at the last WC? Surely if the best players are all being offered scholarships in NZ yet only 2 or 3 ABs at any one time are from those nations then surely all these scholarship winners would also be available for their nation even tho they have had all their rugby education and schooling in NZ. The numbers dont back up the notion that NZ raids the PI schools. What you also arnt taking into account is how many school boy teams from Tonga and Samoa get taken to NZ and to a lesser extent Aus as a promotion tour in the hope of some getting these schollarships as its a massive step up in opportunity for many and their future is a lot brighter whether they succeed at rugby or not.. NRL are a massive threat to rugby. NZ schools have to hire security to stop every club sending scouts to all School tournaments simply because they cant produce their own talent. They rubbish union as inferior yet raid all their juniors.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Tonga copping a towelling from Fiji but then the Drua did play the SR season. Izzy is on the wing, his best position, but I thought Tonga may have played him at 15,
ozziedude
Roar Rookie
I think it’s two different issues Jacko, as the IRB rules state there is nothing wrong with Izzy et al. playing for a 2nd tier after standdown period. My comment was on the harvesting of teens by scholarships who then go into Nz super rugby clubs etc ( the playing of Nz super fixtures in the islands has helped this doubling as an underhanded scouting process). Now others may do it too, French clubs, Nrl etc, but doesn’t make it right. I think at one stage Fiji brought some law changes to stem the flow.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
“…I think…” Those are your keys words there. You have no right or entitlement to assume you speak for all those servicemen and women. I speak for yourself. It is the height of narcissism to assume otherwise.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
It all comes under the same headline Ozzie. Whether you believe its school kids or whether its older ones its still the same issue. And these players have 2 choices who they represent and thats a privilege others dont have. Would Tonga be weaker or stronger with Tongan born only players available for selection? Do you think its Tonga that benifits more from the current situation or is it NZ/Aus that benifits more? Id say Tonga clearly benifits way more.
ozziedude
Roar Rookie
Of course I can, as my comment states. It seems that you have brought up a totally different unrelated situation.
Aiden
Guest
On behalf of …? That’s interesting. My grandfather fought in WW2, went to Church every week, voted conservative and still agreed with Izzy’s sacking. Nice of you to assume you speak for all servicemen. You only speak for yourself junior.
Aiden
Guest
Not really. I supported his sacking. But that was one employer. This is a new employer. He didn’t commit a heinous crime, he breached his contract with that particular workplace. And I note he has pulled his head in at subsequent gigs. He just wasn’t willing to do so at the WBs.
UAP
Guest
Character falls short for the Wallabies Jc but good enough to play for the Tongan side Bit of a double standard there mate