Folau: I’d have left Oz for my love of Maria
WHILE Israel Folau was preparing for the Wallabies Bledisloe Cup showdown last night, there was more than a test match on his mind – there was also his love match with Silver Ferns stunner Maria Tutaia.
The high-profile sporting couple have been coping with a longdistance relationship for more than a year and were last October reported to have got engaged, but Folau last week opened up about how he had even considered quitting Aussie rugby to show his dedication to Tutaia.
Folau, who scored the Wallabies break-away opening try last night, told the Daily Telegraph he’d had talks with the Blues about ditching the Waratahs so the couple could spend more time together ahead of plans to marry later this year.
‘‘I had a look at it, in the end it wasn’t really going to work out, but I wanted to explore the option of doing it for the sake of our relationship,’’ he told the paper. ‘‘And she understands that, she knows the best thing for both of us is for me to be here now, and she doesn’t have long in her career so I really want her to go out and finish in the way she wanted to.’’
The paper reported the deal fell through after Tutaia was able to sign a Netball New Zealand contract that lets her travel to Australia each month and includes a break of up to six months in 2018 while remaining in the running to play in the 2019 World Cup, after which she plans to retire.
Folau told the paper the decision had been a ‘‘challenging period’’.
‘‘It’s towards the end of her career so I want her to really finish off on the way she wants to go out. We’re both really busy people with our jobs obviously, but that’s the way it is but we’ve sorted that out and are really happy to move on.’’