Israel Folau wants to play for Tonga at 2023 Rugby World Cup

Israel Folau could make a remarkable return to international rugby next year, with Tonga coach Toutai Kefu revealing the sacked rugby star has indicated he would like to play for the Pacific island nation if World Rugby votes to change eligibility rules later this month.

The World Rugby Council is set to meet on November 24 to vote on a proposal to allow players to represent a second nation. At present, a player can’t change allegiances unless they stand down for three years and also take part in an Olympic sevens qualifying event.

Former Wallabies fullback Israel Folau is keen to play for Tonga. Credit:Getty

World Rugby officials want Pacific island nations to be strengthened and have greater leverage to pick home-grown players who have already made their Test debut elsewhere.

Folau, who is preparing for a stint in Japanese rugby, is someone who could benefit from the potential change. He was sacked by Rugby Australia in 2019 following a controversial social media post that spelled the end of his 73-Test Wallabies career.

Kefu, the former Wallabies No.8, told the Herald not only would he pick Folau for Tonga, but that he had met with the discarded fullback to gauge his interest.

“We’d definitely be interested,” Kefu said. “We’re not in a position to bypass players of Israel’s calibre. We’d welcome him with open arms.

“I’ve had conversations with him already in the last six months. I actually caught up with him just before he left to go to Japan. I explained to him where we were at in terms of what’s happening with this revisiting of this new eligibility rule. He totally understands it. I said, ‘If they overturned this straight away, you could be available for us next year’.

“He said, ‘Yeah, I’m keen to go’.”

Folau’s return to the international stage would cap a remarkable comeback given his high-profile sacking and fight to continue playing top-flight rugby.

Israel Folau lost his job with Rugby Australia as the result of comments he posted on social media.Credit:Getty

Tonga have not qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup but have featured at the past seven tournaments.

Folau taking on the Wallabies at a World Cup would be compulsory viewing.

Kefu told the Herald in 2019 he would be interested in luring Folau to Tonga one day and says if it came to fruition it would be warmly received.

“I think everyone would react quite positively,” Kefu said. “To see one of the greats back playing rugby is a real bonus in itself. I’ll ring him straight after they decide on November 24.”

Told November 24, the day of the upcoming vote, is three years to the day since Folau played his final Test, Kefu said: “Maybe there is some alignment there, maybe some divine intervention.”

Kefu says the rule change would benefit Tonga immensely and believes there are “six or seven” players he could extract from other nations throughout the world.

“We probably stand to benefit the most out of any country, only because we have a lot of players who have played for New Zealand and Australia who are now plying their trade overseas,” Kefu said.

Former Wallabies back-rower Lopeti Timani will make his Test debut for Tonga this weekend against England, four years since he last pulled on a gold jersey. He had to qualify through the sevens route.

“I spoke with him leading up to the campaign and he was absolutely looking forward to playing this November,” Kefu said. “That whole qualification through the Olympic sevens ... it was so complicated. To get players ready for that, I don’t think people understand just how difficult that is.”

Tonga will be looking to improve on their 35-3 loss to England in the pool stages of the 2019 World Cup when they clash at Twickenham on Sunday morning (2.15am AEDT).

“We were really competitive until probably the last 20 minutes where our boys made some poor decisions and we got a little bit tired,” Kefu said. “The team that has been chosen to play this weekend is the strongest team we’ve put out since the World Cup.”

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.

Share this post