Folau shunned rugby union offer to stay with Catalans Dragons

It has emerged that Israel Folau opted to remain in the Super league with current club the Catalan Dragons over taking up an offer with Frenchy rugby union side Montpellier.

A recent report confirmed Folau was approached by Montpellier to join the Top 14 side, but declined the offer and could even extend his contract with the Dragons.

Folau has 73 caps to his names with the Wallabies, but was sacked because of homophobic comments made on his social media accounts.

After playing for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL 10 years ago, Folau debuted for the Dragons in February in what was his first league action since featuring for the Broncos.

Folau was brilliant in his debut, scoring a try after just five minutes in the Dragons 36-18 win over Castleford.

Catalans coach Steve McNamara said he is keen to keep him in France for the foreseeable future, but is well aware that he will garner a lot of interest, including a return to the NRL.

“When we made the decision to sign him it was on a one-year deal and about giving Izzy that opportunity,” McNamara said.

“If he continues to keep working hard and enjoying what he’s doing here, it’s something we’ll look at in the future. It’s not on our agenda right now.

“I’m sure there will be speculation about him, but for us it was our agreement to get him back playing, getting that smile back on his face, and he was in the process of doing that [before the shutdown].

“We’ll speak to Izzy at the right time. We’re only three games in, we might not get started until July, and nobody knows what the financial climate will look like. It’s a very unclear picture right now for players and staff."

Even with a long lay off from league action, McNamara said that Folau's strong work ethic has allowed him to make a swift return back to the code.

“The main thing that caught our eye internally was how hard he has worked for the team and how he did that on the back of not a great fitness base, given his time out of the sport,” he said.

“To roll up his sleeves the way he did and work as hard as he did in just three games, that was the biggest thing that impressed us.”