Israel Folau won’t let a month-long firestorm burn his commitment to rugby, saying backlash from his controversial comments about homosexuality will not push him out of the code. Speaking for the first time since claiming gay people were headed to “hell unless they repent their sins and turn to God”, Folau on Thursday was making no promises to change or be more careful with his online commentary.

“I stand firm in what I believe in and that’s something personal with who I am,” the devout Christian said. “That’s something that comes truly from the bottom of my heart. That doesn’t interfere with anything to do with my rugby and the guys around me.

“As team-mates, I’m still the same person and I try to bring that energy as best I can when I’m around the team and obviously going out and playing on the weekends doesn’t change who I am. That’s the most important thing that I’ve learnt probably the last month.”

Despite pressure from major sponsors Qantas and Asics, Rugby Australia opted not to sanction Folau for his provocative comments. Nor has the 29-year-old been hurt by backlash from both fans and rival players, including All Blacks star TJ Perenara and Chiefs halfback Brad Weber, who said Folau’s posts disgusted him.

“Absolutely not,” Folau said when asked if the criticism stung. “I don’t take anything personally. I understand everyone is entitled to their opinions and I’ve said what I’ve said in recent weeks. I leave it there.”

Folau is off contract at the end of 2018, with RA eager to retain the three-times John Eales Medallist as Australia’s Test player of the year through to at least the 2019 World Cup despite obvious interest from the NRL and cashed-up clubs in Europe and Japan. The code-hopping star insists the recent drama won’t impact on his decision whether or not to stay in the 15-man game.

“At the end of the day, you’re an adult. You’ve got to clear those things up and you’ve got to look at what are the main things out of it,” the fullback said ahead of his Super Rugby comeback for the NSW Waratahs on Saturday following five weeks out with a hamstring injury.



“You can’t hold grudges, you can’t take anything personally. I’ve been fine with how everything’s rolled out the last month. My focus is obviously on getting back out there on the field, which is an exciting time for me.”

The inclusion of the Wallabies’ star is among five changes to the starting side, who had entered the record books as the first NSW outfit held scoreless in 23 seasons of Super Rugby.



Folau replaces the benched Bryce Hegarty, with winger Alex Newsome dropped to make way for Cam Clark and new outside centre Lalakai Foketi, relegating Curtis Rona to a reserves role. In the forwards, Will Miller will start in the back row instead of Jed Holloway, with Ned Hanigan returning to lock in favour of Tom Staniforth.

Coach Daryl Gibson vowed to “mix and match” his line-ups during a season-defining four-game stretch against New Zealand opposition. “We’re entering a really competitive phase of our year and I really want to share that around and give guys opportunities to contribute,” Gibson said.

“I’ve kept largely the same team [in 2018]. We’ve been very fortunate with injuries this season and I don’t want guys to be disheartened at not getting a run. I’m making a real strong commitment to them that things are going to be different over the next few weeks.”

The Waratahs are looking to end Australian teams’ dire run of 36-straight Super Rugby defeats to Kiwi rivals since May, 2016. With just two wins from nine starts, the Blues are running last in the New Zealand conference but Gibson won’t be lulled into “rubbish” talk about the Aucklanders being there for the taking.

“Everyone’s got their challenges. The Blues are going through theirs,” he said. “I look at us. We’re coming off a belting – 29-0 [against the Lions]. We’re still working out how that happened, learning the lessons from that – and still seething from it. We want to make sure we respond well.”

Folau proved a revelation on the wing before being injured and Gibson said his return to fullback didn’t mean an end to the use of his deadly aerial skills.



“That’s still an opportunity for us. We’re trying to look for ways to evolve in that aerial tactic in particular,” he said. “So nothing changes for us. We’re looking for those contested balls, for him to claim them [going] forward and to really get involved in the game.”