Folau feels heat as Jones restores his pride
ISRAEL FOLAU was booed every time he touched the ball as Eddie Jones made a winning return to Twickenham with the Barbarians.
Folau, playing for the World XV, was the subject of catcalls from parts of the 32,000 crowd for his stance on LGBT issues.
The former Australian wing, now eligible for Tonga, said gay people should go to hell in 2019 and was sacked by the Wallabies.The 34-year-old was barracked by a section of the crowd displaying Pride flags even when he scored for the World team.
World XV coach Steve Hansen, sporting a Pride wristband, said: “It is Pride week so I thought I would support them.The community is a special one and every human being deserves to be loved and cared for and judged on their own merits. I don’t have a problem, I would always support them.”
Jones has not been back to Twickenham since his England side faced boos of their own after the defeat by South Africa in November, which was followed by his sacking. His Barbarians ran in eight tries to the World XVs six.
Now Australia coach, Jones ran the rule over Quade Cooper and Samu Kerevi, who could form the Wallaby midfield at the World Cup. Kerevi went off early with what Jones called “a little hamstring strain”, but the pair had a valuable week of preparation ahead of the Rugby Championship and France 2023 after injury lay-offs.
Jones said: “We thank the Barbarians for allowing us to do that.”
BARBARIANS – Tries: Radwan, Li, Tamanivalu (2), Lewis, Anscombe, Johnson (2).
Cons: Anscombe (4).
WORLD XV – Tries: Negri, Nkosi (2), Ratuniyarawa, Folau, Hall. Cons: Hastings (4), Patchell (2).