Hansen defends Folau choice as he backs Twickenham pleasure flag choice
Former Wallabies full-back Folau was sacked by Rugby Australia 4 years in the past for a sequence of homophobic and offensive social media posts.
The 34-year-old has managed to relaunch his rugby union profession in Japan, and can signify Tonga on the autumn’s World Cup in France after finishing the stand-down interval to switch allegiance to a different nation of his heritage.
Ex-New Zealand boss Hansen defended deciding on the controversial Folau in his World XV squad – then additionally backed the RFU’s choice to fly the pleasure flag on the dwelling of English rugby in Sunday’s Barbarians match.
“I think it’s great, it’s a consequence of Folau’s selection and I think it’s a good thing,” stated Hansen of the RFU flying the pleasure flag this weekend.
“It’s an opportunity to show support to that flag. I don’t have a problem with it, I think it’s great.
“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 I think that’s good. They deserve to be loved and cared as much as anybody else.”
Folau stays among the many sport’s premier backline abilities regardless of his advancing years and the acute public airing of the controversial views value him his Australia profession.
Hansen was part of New Zealand’s back-to-back World Cup wins in 2011 and 2015, and nonetheless instructions respect as one of many sport’s foremost teaching minds.
The 64-year-old insisted he doesn’t share Folau’s beliefs, however defended his proper to pick out the highly effective backline operator.
“Israel’s a very good rugby player, and I know by picking him that there will be some people hurt,” stated Hansen.
“And I get that. However, I want those people to understand that Israel’s beliefs and his 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.”
Steve Hansen’s World XV tackle the Barbarians at Twickenham
/ Getty Images for BarbariansHansen believes the World XV-Barbarians conflict can hand rugby a morale increase amid an ailing membership sport and funds additionally struggling within the southern hemisphere.
With the sport nonetheless battling to enhance participant welfare and normal security, Hansen urged rugby’s lawmakers to have higher perception within the sport’s fundamentals.
Asked if rugby has sufficient confidence in itself, Hansen replied: “That’s a good question. If you keep giving red cards out, people think the game’s dirty, so it’s imploding upon itself.
“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 red cards are not fixing the problem.
“Is the data saying we are getting fewer head knocks by doing what we are doing at the moment? I don’t think so.”