CODE Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cI guess I\u2019m still sort of processing it now. Still very fresh, I guess. It hasn\u2019t really sunk in just yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look across my time playing the game, I was very blessed to play at the highest level for even that long.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not common for players to get to play at that level for that long. I\u2019m very thankful and grateful for the career I\u2019ve gotten to have.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think maybe in a year\u2019s time it will sink in a bit more and you sit back and reflect. At the moment I\u2019m still going through that process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel Folau. Picture: NRL PhotosSource: Supplied<\/p>\n
Folau\u2019s decision to call time on his career comes less than six months after he was linked with a shock return to the NRL via the Wests Tigers on a train and trial contract.<\/p>\n
After switching his international allegiance in rugby union to Tonga, his management approached the Tigers before the June 30 deadline but no deal was struck between two two parties.<\/p>\n
Most recently, he had completed four seasons in the Japanese rugby union competition.<\/p>\n
Known for his ability on the field, Folau also had one of the most controversial careers of a sporting athlete.<\/p>\n
In 2019, his contract was terminated by Rugby Australia after he breached their Code of Conduct over social media posts condemning homosexuality and other behaviour on religious grounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a bit of doubt. You second-guess yourself and whether you are doing the right thing,\u201d the three-time Wallabies player of the year said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think growth comes in the most challenging times of your life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was moments there where I tried the best that I could and still wasn\u2019t good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – AUGUST 24: Israel Folau of Australia looks on during The Rugby Championship Bledisloe Cup match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies at Westpac Stadium on August 24, 2013 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Open to playing alongside his brother in grassroots rugby league next year, he will also play in January\u2019s Nines Premier League tournament on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n
It was announced on social media, he will join \u2018EZ Squad\u2019 alongside former South Sydney Rabbitohs forward Eddy Pettybourne.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d definitely be open to playing a bit of local footy,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still feel fit and healthy. It\u2019s great to have a run around but also give back to grassroots footy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the Nines it\u2019s just a bit of fun, supporting Eddy, supporting Ant (Mitchell, tournament founder), the concept of Nines and the EZ Squad,\u201d Folau said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust a good weekend to play a bit of footy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel Folau has officially announced his retirement from professional sport after an extraordinary career which spanned more than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":937441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-937440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=937440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/937441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=937440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=937440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=937440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}