Steve Hansen responds to decision to fly pride flag at Twickenham after Israel Folau

[The InnFORCEr]

Story by Adam Kyriacou • Yesterday 10:25 pm


The Rugby Football Union (RFU) will fly the pride flag at Twickenham on Sunday in response to Israel Folau being picked in the World XV by Steve Hansen.

Former All Blacks head coach Hansen accepts the selection of Folau is controversial and applauds the RFU’s decision to raise the flag for this week’s match.

Folau will play against Eddie Jones’ Barbarians four years after Rugby Australia sacked him for publishing a series of anti-gay posts on social media.

Rainbow flag will be flying
He has since switched national allegiance to Tonga and is set to play at the Rugby World Cup later this year, this after a stint in rugby league with Catalans.

On the RFU’s decision to show support for the LGBTQ+ community by flying the rainbow flag, Hansen welcomes the move but insists Folau deserves to play.

“I think it’s great. It’s a consequence of Folau’s selection, and I think it’s a good thing. It’s an opportunity to show support to that flag. I don’t have a problem with it,” he said.

“There wouldn’t be one there if Israel wasn’t playing so whenever we can bring attention to people who are suffering in a positive way, that’s good.

“They deserve to be loved and cared for as much as anybody else. If we all did that, it’d be a happy place, wouldn’t it.

“Israel Folau is a very good rugby player. He’s world-class. And I know by picking him that there will be some people hurt. And I get that.

“However, I want those people to understand that Israel’s belief and views are not ours. And we don’t agree with them.

“But he’s a rugby player first and foremost, and he’s been sanctioned. Those sanctions have finished, he’s playing rugby, he’s probably going to go to the World Cup so my job is to pick the best team I can pick, and that’s what I’ve done.”

Hansen, a Rugby World Cup winner with the All Blacks as head coach in 2015, has ordered his World XV outfit to entertain against the Baa-baas on Sunday.

Feels it’s counter-productive
However, the Kiwi made a point of criticising the recent drive to stamp out dangerous play in the game that he feels has brought a “dourness” to the sport.

“We see a lot of red cards, and while I understand that, I just don’t understand why we ruin the game with them,” Hansen said.

“Fans want to see a contest – one of the biggest principles of the game is a fair contest – and we’re giving people red cards for unintentional accidents and calling it foul play.

“If you keep giving red cards out, people will think the game’s dirty so it’s imploding upon itself.

“It’s easy for me to sit here and have all the answers, but somehow we’ve got to bring a more common-sense approach to finding a solution rather than just a penalty.

“I wonder if we do this because we want to be able to say, ‘Well, at least we’ve done that’ if we then go to a court hearing?

“That’s pretty cynical of me to think like that, but I can’t help it because sending players off is not fixing the problem.

“Is the data saying we are getting less head knocks by doing what we are doing at the moment? I don’t think so.”

https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/rugb...0e638285&ei=10

[The InnFORCEr]

Israel Folau included in World XV against Barbarians
Staff Writers
Press Association
May 24, 2023 6:28PM


World XV coach Steve Hansen has picked Israel Folau for the clash against Eddie Jones's Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.

Hansen pressed ahead with the controversial selection of Folau on the right wing despite the Rugby Football Union deciding to raise the pride flag at Twickenham.

Folau was sacked by Rugby Australia in 2019 because of a series of anti-gay posts on social media and was involved in a bitter court battle with his then employers.

The former Wallabies star has since been plying his trade in Japan.

He will be joined in the World XV team by Semi Radradra, the former Parramatta Eel who now plays for English club the Bristol Bears.

The Barbarians will be led by Wales great Alun Wyn Jones.

Jones has announced he is retiring from the international game having amassed 170 caps, including 12 for the British and Irish Lions, in a decision that means he will miss the World Cup.

The 37-year-old Ospreys lock will captain a side that includes Australia stars Quade Cooper and Samu Kerevi.

BARBARIANS: G Anscombe, A Radwan, S Tamanivalu, S Kerevi, T Li; Q Cooper, J Maunder; A Waller, N Dolly, E Pieretto, AW Jones (capt), S Lewies, A Wainwright, K Yamamoto, S Luatua. Replacements: H Thacker, T West, C Sadie, R Simmons, S Vailanu, F Hougaard, A Cruden, S Johnson.

WORLD XV: C Piutau; I Folau, S Radradra, N Laumape, Sbu Nkosi; Adam Hastings, Nick Phipps; W Jones, F Brown, O Kebble, A Ratuniyarawa, H Hockings, S Negri, M Lamaro (capt), V Mata. Replacements: E Dee, A Dell, M Street, N Cannone, J Murphy, B Hall, R Patchell, K Rasaku.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/ru...ans-c-10758215

[Hansie]

Dunno how many of you have watched Folau on ABC iView, makes for interesting viewing.

It's Folau's Dad who convinced Izzy not to take the offensive post down.

Kerevi also makes some very poignant points. Shows how poorly the ARU handled the whole affair.

[jargan83]

Flying the flag will really teach him a lesson while he's being paid $30k to play a game of Rugby.

[Burgs]

Was looking at The West site just now.
Apart from realising that they have one banner link of "AFL" not "Sport" and the sub headings further down the page of AFL, WAFL then Other Sport if you are still bothered staying around...
It is normal practice for almost all online papers to have "controversial" articles as paywalled, or, perhaps one article paywalled and a similar one free.
Interestingly the two about the player we should ignore are both free access...

[palitu]

Dunno how many of you have watched Folau on ABC iView, makes for interesting viewing.

It's Folau's Dad who convinced Izzy not to take the offensive post down.

Kerevi also makes some very poignant points. Shows how poorly the ARU handled the whole affair.

yeah, it was an interesting watch - especially how respectable Dan Palmer looks, he always looked like a mega bogan, but now, damn!

I'm not sure what i take from it. He was 'manipulated' by his dad and church into certain stances, including, it seems, the AFL contract. But he did some stupid shit that he should have known better. Then continued to double down on things he has done. Not to mention the extreme double standards that you get out of extreme religion stances.

And i think there were some points made by one of the gay or trans pacific islanders who said that "it has probably put a lot of gay pacific island kids back in the closet", which is sad and demonstrates the power and responsibility of fame.

[boof1050]

yeah, it was an interesting watch - especially how respectable Dan Palmer looks, he always looked like a mega bogan, but now, damn!

I'm not sure what i take from it. He was 'manipulated' by his dad and church into certain stances, including, it seems, the AFL contract. But he did some stupid shit that he should have known better. Then continued to double down on things he has done. Not to mention the extreme double standards that you get out of extreme religion stances.

And i think there were some points made by one of the gay or trans pacific islanders who said that "it has probably put a lot of gay pacific island kids back in the closet", which is sad and demonstrates the power and responsibility of fame.

I reckon Gee Rob was onto it when she said he naively honestly believes in his stance. Unfortunately as soon as the Barristers, Christian lobby group and others became involved it pretty much became more than anyone bargained for.
It’s makes you wonder how much behind the scenes push that The Irish toe cutter from qantas had in all this.