England head coach Eddie Jones says rugby union's laws are "out of control" after a high number of cards were again issued across this weekend's Test matches.

Jones saw up close two players get sin-binned in England's 25-17 win over Australia on Saturday as Marcus Smith and Izaia Perese were penalised for deliberate knock-ons.

The 62-year-old did not feel either player deserved to be issued a yellow card, which was also the general view of spectators watching on.

Referee Jaco Peyper was even more card happy in Ireland's historic away win in New Zealand, meanwhile, dishing out three yellows and a red in the first half alone in Dunedin.

On the back of another day of contentious decisions, Jones has called for "common sense" to prevail from officials.

"The game's out of control," he said. "You saw the New Zealand and Ireland Test – at one stage, commentators couldn't count how many players were on the field! 

"You had three backs packing a scrum. We've gone the full hog where everything's a red card, yellow card and there needs to be some common sense.

"I picked the referee's pocket [before the game] – he had plenty of cards in it."

While Jones was adamant neither Smith nor Perese should have been cautioned, opposite number Dave Rennie said he could understand the referee's call.

"There's no doubt Izzy is trying to catch it," Rennie said. "It's certainly different from an intentional slap down, but I have no issue with that decision."

Eddie Jones said silencing Australia's supporters was a "great feeling" after England claimed a 25-17 victory in Brisbane to level the three-match series.

England had lost their past four games heading into the second Test at Suncorp Stadium, including a defeat to the Barbarians. They were jolted by last week's 30-28 loss to Australia in Perth but responded in style on Saturday.

Billy Vunipola crossed over early on for England's only try and Owen Farrell kicked four penalties to give the visitors a 19-0 first-half lead.

Taniela Tupou reduced the arrears before the interval and Samu Kerevi walked in a second, either side of a couple more Farrell penalties, but England saw out the victory.

After getting one over on his country of birth and the team he previously managed for four years, Jones admitted he took great joy from leaving the home hordes disappointed.

"I love coaching at Suncorp Stadium, it's a good experience," Jones said. "You've got 48,000 people all full of drink and all they want to see is their team win.

"When you turn them away, it's a great experience. A great feeling. I was coming out from the coaches' box and they all have their scarves on.

"When did Australians start wearing scarves? It's all the rage, isn't it? They are not so smart now.

"Before the game they are coming up saying to me, 'You are going to get belted tonight'. Now they are a little bit more quiet. So that's good. I enjoy that."

England have now won four of their past five games in Oceania, having won just one of the previous 12 away matches against teams from that continent.

Saturday's victory sets up a thrilling decider in Sydney next weekend, and Jones has no doubt it is the home side that will be under more pressure.

"It's 1-1. And the pressure's on the other mob now," he said. "So they've got to deal with that pressure. We'll find ways of getting better.

"It was a good effort by the boys. We just tightened our game up a little bit this week.

"The boys carried out the game-plan really well, and played with a lot of intensity, a lot of passion, and we had three new caps. Incredible.

"It's just time together. We're a very young, inexperienced team. It takes time to put things together, and we'll be more cohesive next week."

There was one big negative to come out of the game for Jones, however, as Maro Itoje failed to return to the field after undergoing a head injury assessment.

Itoje collided with Hunter Paisami shortly before the interval and Jones later confirmed the lock will play no part in the deciding Test.

"The medical situation with Maro is that he will be out next weekend," Jones said.

Prior to this weekend's fixtures, Itoje's 83 line-outs won in Tests since the beginning of 2021 was at least 21 more than any other player from a Tier One nation.

Sri Lanka provided a fine response to keep themselves in the conversation on day two of their second Test against Australia, whom they trail by 180 runs after reaching 184-2 at stumps.

The tourists added 66 runs to their day-one total at the start of the action on Saturday before Sri Lanka began what looked to be a fairly daunting reply to 364.

Set against the backdrop of mass anti-government protests amid an economic crisis in the country, with demonstrations reaching the stadium in Galle, anyone would have forgiven Sri Lanka for being distracted.

But they were locked-in throughout on what was an impressive day for them all round on the pitch.

Steve Smith picked up where he left off on day one to ultimately finish on 145 not out, but after Alex Carey (28) was dismissed, Australian batsmen dropped like flies as they put on just 35 runs for their last four wickets partly thanks to Prabath Jayasuriya's (6-118) tremendous six-for on debut.

Sri Lanka's innings started poorly, with Pathum Nissanka sent packing for six by Mitchell Starc (1-28) in the ninth over to leave them 12-1.

Dimuth Karunaratne (86) was then almost run out on 18 and also had a lucky escape just before tea when nearly finding the clutches of Mitchell Swepson (1-31).

But there were otherwise few scares for Sri Lanka as Australia's attack faded in the face of Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis (84 not out).

That was until Swepson's return, as he slammed a delivery into Karunaratne's pads to snare him leg before.

Mendis continued to elude Australia, however, providing a steadying a presence as Sri Lanka reached the close in good shape.

Jayasuriya has a day to remember

On his Test debut, Jayasuriya produced a memorable showing with the ball. His performance undoubtedly proved key in preventing Australia reaching 400.

His figures are the second best by a Sri Lankan bowler on a Test debut, with only Praveen Jayawickrama (6-92) against Bangladesh in 2021 doing better.

Mendis, Karunaratne frustrate Australia

Mendis and Karunaratne may not have put on runs at a devastating rate, but that is not always what is required in Test cricket. They were playing the long game and it worked.

Australia's attack did not provide Sri Lanka with the opportunities to quickly build a big total, but their second-wicket stand kept the hosts on track and they head into day three in a good position thanks to the pair.

England held firm to overcome Australia 25-17 on Saturday as they snapped a three-game losing run and levelled up their three-match series Down Under.

The visitors let slip a commanding lead and a one-man advantage to lose 30-28 in last week's opening Test, but they responded in Brisbane with a resilient and aggressive display.

Australia made six changes to last week's winning side, many of them enforced, and England took full advantage by taking a 19-7 lead into half-time at Suncorp Stadium.

Billy Vunipola crossed over inside five minutes following a spell of sustained early pressure and Owen Farrell added to the successful conversion with four penalties.

An undisciplined Australia, who also lost Izaia Perese for 10 minutes for a deliberate knock-on, gave themselves hope just before the interval when Taniela Tupou powered over.

Another Farrell penalty early in the second half gave England breathing space, only for Samu Kerevi to walk in from an overlap for the hosts' second try of the contest,

Australia finally had some momentum, and Noah Lolesio's penalty after Marcus Smith was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on made things even more interesting.

But three more points from the boot of Farrell put the game out of Australia's reach as England saw out just a second win in their past six matches away from home.

Brendon McCullum says his England side are about much more than aggressive cricket, labelling the term 'Bazball' "silly" as he responded to Steve Smith's comments about the team's revival.

England have looked reinvigorated since McCullum and Ben Stokes took over as red-ball coach and captain respectively.

They have posted three of their highest-ever run chases in their last three Tests after a remarkable victory over India at Edgbaston.

Having whitewashed world champions New Zealand 3-0, England completed a 378-run chase against India on Tuesday, drawing the teams' delayed series and sparking new levels of excitement among fans.

'Bazball' – the term coined to describe England's aggressive style under the New Zealander – has won near-universal praise, but the coach himself says it does not do justice to their displays.

"I don't really like that silly term that people are throwing out there," he told Australian radio station SEN. 

"Because there's actually quite a bit of thought that goes into how the guys manufacture their performances and when they put pressure on bowlers and which bowlers they put pressure on. 

"There's also times where they've absorbed pressure beautifully as well."

Former Australia skipper Steve Smith is among those yet to be convinced by England's style, recently declaring to the Sydney Morning Herald: "I'm just intrigued to see how long it lasts, if it's sustainable."

Australia's 4-0 Ashes humiliation of England in December and January irreversibly damaged Joe Root's captaincy, with the next edition of the teams' Test rivalry set for 2023.

McCullum insisted Smith was right to question England, adding Australia would provide the biggest challenge of his tenure but stressing his immediate focus was on the three-part series with South Africa, set to begin on August 17 at Lord's.

"I saw those [comments] flick up on one of the feeds somewhere," McCullum added. "It's quite right, it is going to be a big challenge when we take on Australia.

"It's going to challenge our method, and it's going to challenge what we're capable of achieving and that's pretty exciting I reckon.

"Isn't that what the game's all about? To sort of reinvigorate yourself and then be confronted against the very best.

"I do believe that both New Zealand and India are two very, very good cricket sides as well. Australia is a different kind of challenge because of the history of the Ashes and the rivalry which exists there.

"We know that's probably the ultimate challenge for us. We'll have to deal with that in time, I guess. In this job you plan as if you'll live forever and live as if you'll die tomorrow.

"You want to make sure you enjoy the ride. I keep preaching to the boys about being where your feet are and to try to immerse yourself in the here and now.

"You take your eye off anything, and teams will be able to make sure you look a bit silly. Our focus will be on South Africa for now but at some point in time, that will be a series which we [focus on].

"Test cricket needs the Ashes to be strong and competitive. You'd say the last one wasn't so that's the task for us in time."

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne brought up centuries – the former ending a 16-month Test drought – as Australia made a terrific start to the second Test in Sri Lanka on Friday.

Smith (109 not out) reached his first Test hundred since scoring 131 against India in January 2021 shortly before stumps on day one, after Labuschagne (104) had driven Australia into a strong position against the COVID-19-impacted hosts.

Three late wickets from debutant Prabath Jayasuriya (3-90) only partially stemmed the tourists' momentum, with Sri Lanka – who have lost three players to COVID-19 since a crushing first Test defeat - toiling as Australia reached 298-5.

Looking to win four successive Tests against Sri Lanka for the first time since 2004, Australia were led to a solid start by the in-form Usman Khawaja.

Having averaged 117 in 2022 ahead of this contest, Khawaja helped the tourists recover from the early loss of David Warner (5) before being felled by a beauty from Ramesh Mendis shortly before lunch for 37..

Labuschagne took centre stage thereafter, going from strength to strength after Niroshan Dickwella missed the chance to stump him for 28 as he racked up his first away Test hundred.

The 28-year-old's innings represented his seventh Test ton and saw him dovetail brilliantly with Smith – the duo recording their seventh century partnership in just 21 innings - before Dickwella took his second opportunity to stump Labuschagne in the 59th over, after Australia had reached 204-2.

Sri Lanka stepped things up after tea as Jayasuriya added the wickets of Travis Head (12) and Cameron Green (4), but Smith evaded the attack before bringing up his ton with a fine four and will be back at the crease on Saturday.

Labuschagne and Smith drive Aussies forward

Only Joe Root (14) has more Test centuries than Labuschagne since his October 2018 debut after his terrific knock silenced the home crowd.

But if that was good, Australia saved the best until last with Smith's long awaited hundred.

His 28th Test ton was his first in 16 innings and just his second in the red-ball game since the 2019 Ashes, and the former skipper will be hopeful of adding to his tally and taking the tourists beyond 400 after surviving the hosts' late rally.

Out-of-sorts Sri Lanka struggle again 

With bowlers Asitha Fernando and Jeffrey Vandersay among those sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19, Sri Lanka struggled to make headway on a difficult first day.

Having lost three of their five Tests in 2022, Sri Lanka look hard-pushed to stop the tourists after Labuschagne and Smith's day-one heroics. 

Uncapped pair Guy Porter and Tommy Freeman will make their England debuts after they were named in Eddie Jones' starting XV for the second Test against Australia.

The tourists will also hand a first start to Tigers scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet as they ring the chances for the must-win encounter against the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday.

Despite a man advantage after Darcy Swain's first-half dismissal in Perth, Jones' side slid to a 30-28 loss at Optus Stadium last weekend in their first encounter.

That has prompted a flurry of changes from the Australian, in what some may see as a risky gamble as he seeks to level the three-match series in what could be humid winter conditions in Queensland.

Leicester title-winning centre Porter will make his bow, while Freeman – who featured last month in an uncapped game against the Barbarians – will make his international debut proper.

Sam Underhill moves up to take the place of Tom Curry, who has been ruled out of the rest of the tour through concussion, while Owen Farrell has been retained at inside centre.

"We have decided to make changes in our backline, they were tough calls, but we feel they will strengthen the team," Jones said. "There are opportunities to attack against Australia which we can take."

Australia meanwhile have been forced into a slate of swaps, through Swain's suspension and Tom Banks' injury, with Matt Philip in for the former and Jordan Petaia moved to full-back to cover the latter's absence.

In a significant boost, prop Taniela Tupou is back, and makes a like-for-like change with the injured Allan Ala'alatoa.

Australia team: Petaia, Wright, Paisami, Kerevi, Koroibete, Lolesio, White; Bell, Porecki, Tupou, Philip, Neville, Leota, Hooper, Valetini.

Replacements: Fainga'a, Sio, Slipper, Frost, Samu, Gordon, O'Connor, Perese.

England team: Steward, Nowell, Porter, Farrell, Freeman, Smith, Van Poortvliet; Genge, George, Stuart, Itoje, Hill, Lawes, Underhill, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, M Vunipola, Heyes, Chessum, Ludlam, Willis, Care, Arundell.

Australia look poised to hand Glenn Maxwell a shock return to Test cricket, with the all-rounder in contention to provide additional spin against Sri Lanka in Galle.

The 33-year-old has not played the long-form game for his country since he featured in the 2017 tour of Bangladesh, instead carving out his place in the white-ball sides.

That has included success in both ODI and T20 formats, with Maxwell a member of the Australia squad that won the T20 World Cup last November, two years on from a semi-final finish at the Cricket World Cup.

But after spin accounted for the majority of wickets in the first Test last week, captain Pat Cummins has indicated the tourists may switch to selecting a single frontline fast bowler for the second and final match.

That would likely see Mitchell Starc drop out, given Cameron Green could be utilised as a pace option, and would open the door for Maxwell, who has seven Test caps, to make a remarkable return to the side.

"He'd play as a spinning all-rounder at number eight," Cummins said. "I thought he was just about the pick of the bowlers in the one-day series, he was excellent. You can easily get 15 or 20 overs out of him.

"If the wicket plays lots of tricks, the batting will be the area where you have to find those 20 or 30 runs somewhere. Last week we didn't need two quicks, but Mitchell Starc's class so we'll wait and see."

Maxwell was a late call-up to cover for the injured Travis Head following Australia's white-ball series against Sri Lanka, and looked otherwise set to miss out following the latter's recovery.

The lack of senior red-ball cricket will not be an issue for Cummins though, who feels that if selected, Maxwell could bring great value towards the tail of the middle order.

"It's pretty different first-class cricket here to what you might experience in the Sheffield Shield," Cummins said. "It's a different pace, the wickets are so different.

"It might not be grinding out a hundred, but a quickfire 30 or 40 would be just as valuable."

The second Test starts on Friday. Australia won the first match by 10 wickets.

Australia's Darcy Swain will miss the Wallabies' final two tour games with England after he was banned for a headbutt that saw him dismissed in the first Test.

The Brumbies lock was sent off in the first half for clashing heads with Jonny May, leaving the hosts to play the remainder of the match a man down in Perth.

Their numerical disadvantage did not prove costly after a dramatic 30-28 win over the tourists at Optus Stadium, but Swain will now play no role in the next two Tests after World Rugby upheld his red card.

"Having acknowledged mitigating factors, including the player’s acknowledgement of foul play, clean disciplinary record, conduct at the hearing and expression of remorse, the committee granted the player full mitigation of 50 per cent," the committee said in a statement.

"The committee further determined that given the above off-field mitigating factors and that a three-week sanction would be wholly disproportionate given the level and nature of the offence, the sanction was further reduced by an extra week."

Swain, who celebrated his birthday earlier this week, can still appeal against the decision, which will otherwise keep him out of matches against Eddie Jones' side in Brisbane on July 9 and Sydney on July 16.

England wing Jonny May is set to miss Saturday's pivotal second Test against Australia in Brisbane as he makes a "graded return" from a coronavirus lay-off.

The 32-year-old Gloucester player has yet to return to full squad training after emerging from quarantine, and that means he is not expected to figure in Eddie Jones' selection for the weekend.

Defence coach Anthony Seibold said on Tuesday: "It was a long seven days for Jonny. He's been back on his feet today, running, but he didn't join in with the team. It will be a graded return to full training for him.

"We tried to include Jonny while he was in isolation, so sending him the team meetings, the backs meetings. We've used him as a really experienced Test player. We have a really young group in the backs, so he's been a bit of a resource for those guys."

May was absent as England loss the first Test 30-28 in Perth, where two late tries prevented the tourists incurring a heavier defeat. London Irish teenager Henry Arundell made a big impression off the bench as a wing and could come into contention to start in Brisbane, or Jones may elect to use him again as a high-impact replacement.

England will also be without flanker Tom Curry, due to concussion, and the Sale Sharks man will not feature in the third Test in Sydney either.

Seibold said potential replacements Lewis Ludlam, Sam Underhill and Jack Willis were "three really good guys".

Quoted on Skysports.com, Seibold added: "Lewis Ludlam came on and competed really strongly when Tom Curry came off on Saturday.

"He's been a great leader for Northampton this year and when he comes into camp you can certainly tell why he is the captain of his club.

"Jack Willis is really good over the ball and competes really strongly defensively, while Sam Underhill was one of the outstanding players at the 2019 World Cup.

"He missed out on selection for the first Test, but he’s competed really strongly to put himself in the frame for the second. So we've got some options there. Tom's a big part of our team so he'll be a loss, but it's an opportunity for somebody else."

Losing senior figures means a difficult task for England becomes even more complicated. Australia have won their last five Tests on home soil – their best-such run since 2008 – and five of their last eight when hosting European opposition.

Tom Curry will play no further part in England's tour of Australia after he was ruled out for the remaining two games through concussion.

The Sale Sharks flanker started for Eddie Jones' side in Saturday's first Test in Perth, but was replaced by Lewis Ludlam at the half-time break as the Wallabies snapped their losing streak in a dramatic 30-28 fightback win.

Curry had travelled to Brisbane for the tourists' next match, but will now fly back to England later this week in what is a sizeable blow.

The 24-year-old - a member of the British and Irish Lions party that toured South Africa last year - is considered a frontrunner for Jones' squad at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

"It has been agreed that in the interest of player welfare and recovery, [Curry] will take no further part in the tour," the Rugby Football Union confirmed in a brief statement.

It is not yet known whether England will call up a replacement for Curry, who is the first noticeable injury the tourists have had to deal with.

The Sharks star - a Premiership Cup winner with the club in 2020, a year on from playing in England's World Cup final defeat to the Springboks in Japan - will continue further assessment upon his return to England.

Jhaniele Fowler scored 58 goals on Sunday to lead the West Coast Fever to the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball title following a keenly contested 70-59 victory over the Melbourne Vixens at the RAC Arena.

It was the Fever’s first league title in 25 years after losing in the finals in 2018 and 2020.

Fowler, who was recently appointed captain of Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls, missed one shot and got support from finals MVP Sasha Glasgow, who shot a perfect four for four from the field but who also hit four of her nine super shots. She also had 26 goal assists.

The Fever never trailed at the intervals having led 18-14 at the end of the first quarter and took a six-point lead (35-29) into half-time.

By the end of the third quarter, the Fever extended the lead to nine points after winning the interval 19-16 before closing out the championship outscoring their opponents 16-14 in the final stanza.

Mwai Kemwenda was outstanding for the Vixens scoring 28 of her 29 attempts while Keira Austin missed only two of her 19 shots during the contest.

The victory, which gave Fowler her first hold on the Super League title, capped another outstanding season for the four-time Fever MVP. Heading into the final, Fowler led the league in scoring – 804 goals, goal attempts (833), offensive rebounds (46) and Nissan Net Points (1438).

Eddie Jones suggested Darcy Swain's first-half dismissal worked in Australia's favour as England crashed to a dismal fourth defeat in a row.

England initially took advantage of their opponents being down to 14 men thanks to Ellis Genge's try early in the second half, only to then collapse in remarkable style.

Jordan Petaia, Folau Fainga'a and Pete Samu crossed over to put Australia out of sight, with Henry Arundell and Jack van Poortvliet tries mere consolations for England.

The visitors were five points ahead with 20 minutes left but went on to lose 30-28, and Jones says their terrible final-quarter showing was not helped by Swain's earlier sending off.

"In some ways, the red card can work against you. Sometimes the referee wants to compensate. We didn't adjust as well as we should have," Jones told Sky Sports.

"We had enough moments to win the game. At 14-9 with 20 minutes to go we should have put it away. The reaction from the boys is to win this series 2-1. We have to go again.

"The message at half-time was to keep putting pressure on and we did that in spurts. We lost the ball twice on their try-line and we didn't pressure them, whereas Australia did. 

"We need to work on our finishing and a bit on our defence as well. There are still some positives to come from what has been a very disappointing result for us."

Jones clarified at his news conference that he did not blame referee James Doleman for his side's defeat in Perth, but reiterated Swain's exit inadvertently helped Australia.

"You look at the history of the game, whenever you get a red card the referee evens it up. He helps the team with the red card," he said.

"It's social reciprocity, it happens, that's normal and we've got to be good enough to handle it.

"It happens in every game of rugby I've seen. The team gets a red card and the opposition gets evened up. Because they're nice blokes, referees.

"I'm not criticising the referees, I'm not using it as an excuse, that's the reality of rugby.

"I'll say it again. I think when you play against 14 men the referee has a significant impact on the game and you've got to be good enough to understand what that is.

"We weren't good enough to understand what that is and therefore we paid the price."

England's defeat was their first against Australia in nine Tests amid a run stretching back to October 2015, pre-dating Jones' time in charge.

Not only did the home side play more than half of the match a man light, they also lost three players to first-half injuries after Quade Cooper pulled up in the warm-up.

Swain was repeatedly provoked by England's players, with Jonny Hill seen pulling his hair, but Australia coach Dave Rennie is unsure if that was a deliberate ploy from the opposition.

"I'm not sure if it was a team plan, but there was certainly provocation there. Not just in that situation but also earlier in the game," he said.

"We'll have a decent look at the footage and work out how we're going to appeal that. We'll have decent look at the card. We'll be seeking clarity around it.

"We train with the scenario of playing with 14 or 13 players all the time. What we know is that we just have to work harder. We found a way."

Australia have now won their last five Tests on home soil – their best-such run since 2008 – and five of their last eight when hosting European opposition.

The second match in the three-Test series takes place in Brisbane next Saturday, before concluding in Sydney the following weekend.

Australia snapped an eight-match losing run against England in thrilling fashion with a 30-28 victory at Optus Stadium in Perth, despite playing more than half of Saturday's contest with 14 men.

The hosts lost fly-half Quade Cooper to injury just before kick-off and were given an even bigger headache when Darcy Swain was dismissed six minutes before half-time for headbutting Jonny Hill.

Eddie Jones' men were leading 6-0 at that point thanks to a couple of Owen Farrell penalties and looked good value to extend their winning streak in this fixture, only for Noah Lolesio to level from the boot before the interval, by which point Australia had lost three more to injury.

England finally managed to shake off their opponents when some great execution and patience from a maul allowed Ellis Genge to cross over for the first try of the three-Test series, but Australia again refused to give up and edged in front through a Jordan Petaia try 15 minutes later.

That led to a remarkable England collapse, with Folau Fainga'a claiming the ball from a line-out and sneaking through just two minutes after being introduced, before Pete Samu added a third try following another fine team drive.

Lolesio converted all three of those tries but was sin-binned for a deliberate knock on, meaning Australia were down to 13 men late on, at which point debutant Henry Arundell raced through with his first involvement after being brought on.

Another England debutant in Jack van Poortvliet finished shortly after, with Farrell again adding the extras, but England did not have a chance to resume play in a defeat that will lead to more questions being asked of Jones.

Ex-Australia back Israel Folau saw his return to Test rugby cut short after he limped off in the first half of Tonga's Pacific Nations Cup loss to Fiji.

The former Wallabies star injured his leg in a collision less than half-an-hour into his debut and left the field in the 27th minute as 'Ikale Tahi slumped to a 36-0 defeat in Suva.

A 73-Test veteran with Australia, Folau - who qualifies for Tonga through his parents - was eligible to switch under new World Rugby regulations that allow for a change of nation after three years of international inactivity.

The 33-year-old, who originally moved to union following a four-year league career in the NRL with Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos, is currently with Shining Arcs Tokyo-Bay Urayasu in Japan's Top League.

Folau is effectively in exile from professional sport in his home country after he was sacked by Rugby Australia over a homophobic social media post in 2019.

He subsequently returned to rugby league and spent a season with Catalans Dragons in Super League before skipping out to return to union in Japan, after he was blacklisted from playing in either code in Australia.

Tonga selected him as part of their squad for the Pacific Nations Cup in May, but it remains to be seen if Folau - who also played AFL with Greater Western Sydney for two years - will be fit enough to return for their next game against Australia A.