Sponsors could yet derail Reds’ play for Israel Folau

On Thursday the Queensland Reds and their naming rights sponsor St George Bank will make a joint announcement to mark IDAHOT Day.

What day? IDAHOT Day. International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. It is an important date in the calendar for St George, the former building society that stands, in its own words, "for family, community, inclusion and diversity".

The bank, which started in southern Sydney and merged with giant Westpac a decade ago, was one of the first Australian financial institutions to publically support marriage equality. In the past it has sponsored the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras film festival. Its current chief, Ross Miller, was named in the Boss-Deloitte LGBTI top leaders list in 2016. Miller's boss, Westpac consumer bank chief executive George Frazis, married his partner Ken Pratt earlier this year in what The Australian called "corporate Australia's biggest same-sex marriage since the November plebiscite".

So it will be interesting to see where the speculation ends up around Israel Folau's potential move north to the Reds.

Last week it was reported Folau had met with Queensland coach Brad Thorn. The next day, Thorn gave a glowing endorsement of the Waratahs fullback: "I dont imagine theres a coach who wouldnt be interested in Izzy. Hes an outstanding human, a three-time John Eales medallist, a special player for any team."

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Were it that simple, the Reds could be on the cusp of pulling off the defection of the decade in Australian rugby.

Only there is nothing simple about Folau anymore. In the space of just six weeks, with a small handful of posts on Instagram and Twitter, the dual international has gone from the cleanest of clean-skins to the most complex proposition in Australian sport. Prodigious talent, sublime athlete, corporate kryptonite?

The Reds were hosing down talk of the touted move on Sunday, and a St George spokeswoman said the bank would not comment on speculation.

But it will be instructive to see where the reported "preliminary talks" go from here between player and coach.

Thorn may be coveting Folau as his dream replacement for the France-bound Eto Nabuli. Certainly on performances alone the 29-year-old has proven he is still among the best fullbacks in the world.

But as countless examples have shown – Karmichael Hunt, another Queensland dilemma – professional sport takes in much more than a player's on-field abilities and Folau is now a complex ethical and commercial proposition for clubs and sporting bodies.

What is yet to be tested is how much his new-found outspokenness will affect his career. Having stuck by the Queensland Rugby Union through testing financial times, would St George find it a bridge too far for the Reds to recruit a high-profile player who publicly contradicts its values?

Folau will not be engaging in any hand-wringing over this. He said himself he was happy to walk away from rugby if the price of him sticking to his beliefs was too high to pay for rugby.

It may yet prove to be. The mood has shifted, not around whether the fullback is within his rights to live and act in line with his principles, but around whether rugby can afford to have him do so on their time, let alone their payroll. Never mind Raelene Castle and Andrew Hore's gentle admonishments late last week. When greats Tim Horan and George Gregan are telling you to put a sock in it for the sake of the game, you know you are walking the line.

What is certain is that contract negotiations between Rugby Australia and Folau's management have been in a holding pattern since Folau's first comment about gay people in early April.

There is no date in the diary for their resumption yet and with RA chief Castle in Dublin this week on World Rugby and SANZAAR business, detente may be some time coming.

In the meantime, the best case scenario for the Waratahs and Folau is that he continues to let his rugby do the talking. NSW face the Highlanders at home this week and could do with a few fans turning up to Allianz Stadium.

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Georgina Robinson is a Sports Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald

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