All Blacks thumb their noses at Folau with diversity video

The All Blacks and the Black Ferns, the New Zealand women’s team, have made it clear they strongly disagree Israel Folau.

Israel Folau watches the round 10 Super Rugby match between the Waratahs and the Lions from the Allianz Stadium stands last weekend

The All Blacks and the Black Ferns, the New Zealand women’s team, have made it clear they strongly disagree with Wallabies star Israel Folau when it comes to inclusiveness and diversity.

The two teams have released a sponsored video, made last year, called Diversity Is Strength in which they say their next “battle” lies with a devious and formidable “enemy”.

“It is discrimination — an enemy that cannot be fought alone and must be defeated together.

“It will take more than 15 — it will take thousands — millions”.

The video shows the teams at a stadium in Japan with a diverse set of fans cheering them on, including some holding rainbow flags. The fabric of their black tops is multi-coloured when pulled.

The release of the video comes after Folau this month answered an Instagram user by declaring gay people were headed for “HELL ... unless they repent of their sins and turn to God”.

Rugby Australia opted not to sanction Folau for his comments but individual New Zealand players, such as Brad Weber and TJ Perenara, have condemned the comments.

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said yesterday the organisation had made a call after some difficult moments two to three years ago “that we could actually be at the forefront of societal change”.

He said NZ Rugby really liked the advertisement.

“The key thing is that we walk the talk isn’t it, that we do present rugby from the community level right to the high end — the lead athletes — as a welcoming and inclusive sport.

“We are launching a thing called The Rugby Way, which we hope will give people a framework for our behaviour in any context, whether it’s the way we respond to a referee, the way we respond to someone with a different ethnicity or religious beliefs and that is a respectful and inclusive way.”

The controversy over Folau’s views on homosexuality is expected to add extra spice to the Bledisloe Cup this season.

The Wallabies and the All Blacks will play three Bledisloe Tests this year, the first in Sydney on August 18. This will be followed by a Test at Eden Park in Auckland on August 25 and then a final game in Tokyo on October 27.

With relations between Folau and Rugby Australia still testy, reports continue to circulate of big-money offers from Europe.

English club Sale Sharks, where former Wallabies golden boy James O’Connor plays, has reportedly made a $1.4 million-a-season offer for the dual international, who is off contract at the end of this season.

In a column on sports website Players Voice last week, in which he explained his religious principles and the background to his views on homosexuality, Folau said “there have been rugby offers from the UK, Europe and Japan that are way above anything I could earn in Australia”.

Even if he did move overseas, he would remain eligible to play for the Wallabies under the 60-cap ‘Giteau Law’.

AAP