Raelene Castle walks a tightrope over Israel Folau controversy

Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle admits sanctioning Israel Folau carries the threat of upsetting those on both sides of the controversy.

The Waratahs’ Israel Folau on the charge.

Rugby Australia chief Raelene Castle has admitted the Israel Folau saga has put her organisation at risk of losing either human rights advocates or the deeply religious Polynesian community that supports the Wallabies star.

Castle, appearing on Fox Sports’ Kick and Chase program, described the controversy stirred by Folau’s continued use of social media to spread his religious beliefs, as “the singularly most difficult thing” she had ever had to deal with during her career.

“On the one hand, you’re dealing with a human rights issue and on the other you’re dealing with freedom of speech,” Castle admitted.

She acknowledged that human rights supporters and indeed Rugby Australia’s sponsors, including Qantas, could walk away from the game over Folau’s statements. But she disagreed with host Nick McArdle’s suggestion that no one would abandon rugby simply because she had sanctioned him.

“I really wish I could sit here and say that this is black and white and by sanctioning him we’ll fix it or by going down this path we’ll finish it as well,” she said. “But it really is not that simple because of the freedom-of-speech element.

“I think by sanctioning Israel there is a chance that we lose a different part of the community. So, as I said, this is a very difficult subject that balances those two things. There is no doubt we have had conversations with Izzy about presenting his views in a respectful way. He is walking the line. We will continue the dialogue with him.”

Castle admitted that the controversy sparked by Folau had been kept distinct from attempts to re-sign the Wallabies fullback, whose contract expires at the end of this year.

“We worked really hard through this process to make sure we separated that conversation. And that’s the dialogue and the focus that we continue to have and we haven’t entered into the renegotiations or contract-extension conversations in relation to this matter.”

It is not just his religious beliefs that have been keeping Folau in the news, with indications he is considering a move from the Waratahs to join the Queensland Reds. That is, of course, if he remains in rugby in Australia. Any number of overseas rugby clubs and NRL sides have been touted as seeking his services.

The latest rumours focused on NRL’s NZ Warriors, on the grounds that it would mean he and his wife, Maria, the star shooter for the NZ Silver Ferns netball side, would not have to spend so much time apart pursuing their sporting careers.

Indeed, it was Maria’s tweet, questioning why the Waratahs insisted on playing him on the wing and not in his preferred position, fullback, that first alerted the rugby community to him having problems with NSW.

Any rugby coach worth his salt would have sounded out Folau about joining his team and Reds boss Brad Thorn has enough affinity with him to raise the question of whether he is interested in returning to the state they both have represented at State of Origin level.

The one Reds player with experience of having played Super Rugby alongside Folau, Jono Lance, spoke enthusiastically about the prospect of him moving north.

“I’ve played with Izzy (at the Waratahs in 2014-15) and he’s a pretty exciting player,” said Lance. “I don’t think anyone needs proof of how good he is on the football field.