ISRAEL FOLAU SAYS he has resisted temptation to ‘go back and play the game’ in favour of following ‘the will of God’.

An independent committee last week ruled that the Waratahs and Australia fullback was guilty of a high-level breach to his contract with Rugby Australia and the three-person panel is mulling over a sanction for the 30-year-old fundamentalist Christian.

“There have been many opportunities to potentially make the situation a little bit easier,” Folau said before reading bible verses from the lectern of his church in Sydney yesterday.

“I could go back and play the game, get everything back to the way it used to be… 

The way Satan works is he offers you stuff that could look good to the eye and makes you feel comfortable, and if you follow that path all the worries and troubles will go away. It is always the will of God that comes first.”

Folau reportedly rejected the offer of a $1 million (€620,000) out of court settlement from RA, a figure in line with his annual pay under the contract. That four-year deal’s termination could be set in stone this week as the committee prepares to announce a sanction for the contract breach.

“All the materialistic things I have been able to have over the last number of years are slowly being taken away from me. It’s been really challenging, but also it’s been encouraging to myself to see what my god is actually doing.” 

Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here: