Thursday 5 December 2019 10:09, UK
Rugby Australia (RA) CEO Raelene Castle has defended the governing body's settlement with Israel Folau, insisting they "didn't back down".
RA and Folau announced on Wednesday they had settled their unfair dismissal case, ending a long and bitter dispute after the former Wallaby was sacked in May for homophobic social media posts.
Castle says she has no intention of quitting and the settlement was in the best interests of the game.
She said: "We didn't back down, we needed to give the game cost certainty.
"These are ultimately commercial decisions. We stick to our values that inclusiveness is absolutely core to the game of rugby. Ultimately, taking this conversation further into a court situation was not helping the game."
RA apologised to Folau and his family in a statement on Wednesday. Folau, who had been seeking compensation of £7.4m, apologised for "any hurt or harm caused to the game of rugby."
The terms of the settlement were undisclosed.
Castle said: "That apology was both ways because this has been very stressful, it's been a very hard time for the Folaus. It's been a very hard time for Rugby Australia.
"At the end of the day it was about that difficult time that Rugby Australia apologised for but we stand by our decision."
Folau said in a video message on Wednesday that he was "vindicated" and "extremely pleased" with the settlement.
The 30-year-old had also sought to have his Wallabies contract reinstated in his statement of claim to the Federal Circuit Court, but Castle said she could not see him returning to the game in Australia.
She added: "I think it's clear to see that our values are not aligned and the expectations that Rugby Australia would have of Israel coming back into the sport would not be acceptable to him."
