(News.au.com) Israel Folau may still have a future in rugby even if he loses his legal battle with Rugby Australia.
It has emerged that Tonga coach and former Wallaby Toutai Kefu has broached the notion of Folau joining the island nation for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, after his brother John does so this year in Japan.
The ex-Wallabies No. 8 said that contact has been made with Folau about playing for Tonga following the dual internationalās sacking by Rugby Australia for breaching his contract.
āWeād love to have him ā the next World Cup heād be available for us hopefully.ā Kefu told the Sydney Morning Herald.
āItās a long time away, so weāll let the dust settle a bit after his most recent issues.
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āWe donāt even know if heās going to play again. He hasnāt indicated where he is going, so weāll wait until the dust settles and then look at those options.
āHeād have to sit out three years and then even after that weād have to re-qualify him through a sevens Olympic qualifying tournament.ā
Given Folau has already represented Australia, he cannot switch immediately and play for another country. However, once he sits out three years he could then qualify for Tonga by playing in a sevens tournament that doubles as an Olympic qualifying event.
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Meanwhile, Folauās brother John is in line to qualify for Tonga at this yearās Rugby World Cup in Japan, after parting ways with the Waratahs following his siblingās sacking.
The plan is for John Folau to feature at the Pacific Nations Cup, which begins next month, with Tonga facing Samoa, Japan and Canada.
āHeās definitely on our radar and weāve already spoken to him,ā Kefu said.
āIāve actually never seen him play but Iāve got a playing history of him.
āWeāre going to look at him and even may take him to the PNC because weāve got some holes in our squad, especially out wide in the backs. Thereās a good chance he will be part of that squad.
āYou look at what he has done; heās played in the NRL for a couple of years and heās been on the fringe of Super Rugby for a couple of years. He definitely qualifies because heās got a Tongan passport.
āIf heās played in those competitions before heās certainly good enough to have a trial for us and then we can see whether he is good enough to be part of that Rugby World Cup squad.ā
The latest twist in Folauās ongoing battle with Rugby Australia came at the weekend when he accused them of leaking confidential information pertaining to his Code of Conduct hearing, as the relationship between the former star and the governing body got even uglier.
Originally published as Israel Folau offered rugby lifeline