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Israel Folau booed by fans at Twickenham upon return to international rugby

Home> Rugby Union

Published 03:43 29 May 2023 GMT+1

Israel Folau booed by fans at Twickenham upon return to international rugby

The controversial former Wallaby was booed relentlessly whenever he touched the ball.

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

Israel Folau was booed by fans after scoring a try in his return to international rugby.

The controversial cross-code star was selected to play for the World XV in an exhibition game against the Barbarians at Twickenham.

Folau's side ended up losing the match 48-42, but player in particular seemed to grab peoples' attention the most.

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Alamy

Whenever he touched the ball, former Wallaby Folau was booed throughout the entire match by LBTQIA+ protesters in the stands at Twickenham.

And when Folau crashed over the line to score, he was jeered even harder by those in attendance.

Rugby Football Union, which is England’s governing body for the sport, flew a pride flag on Twickenham's roof for the occasion too.

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This was the first time that Folau had featured on the international stage in over four years – and lets just say people clearly haven't forgotten about his past.

That said, one person who did leap to his defence was World XV coach Steve Hansen, who insisted Folau “can’t be punished for life” for his homophobic views.

“Everyone is allowed an opinion,” Hansen said.

“We don’t necessarily have to agree with each other on our opinions but you are entitled to have one.

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“I’ve always been a great believer that you can’t help somebody change by leaving them on the outside.”

Back in 1029, Folau infamously had his multi-million-dollar Rugby Australia contract torn up after he posted a number anti-gay messages on social media.

The 34-year-old was repeatedly warned about his conduct, yet kept ignoring the warnings – ultimately resulting in his sacking.

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With many teams refusing to take him onboard, Folau was forced to turn to another sport and was given a career lifeline by rugby league side the Catalan Dragons.

He then eventually made his way back over to union, where he signed with the Urayasu D-Rocks over in Japan.

Being banished means a chance of playing for Australia again is no longer on the cards, so Folau has since switched allegiance to Tonga and is now poised to play at this year’s Rugby World Cup in France.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Australia, Rugby, Rugby Union, Wallabies, Israel Folau

Max Sherry
Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

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@maxysherry

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