Maria Folau, 32, retires from netball after husband Israel reaches lucrative settlement with Rugby Australia after being sacked from Wallabies
- Israel Folau was sacked by Rugby Australia in April for anti-gay Instagram post
- Maria Folau has stood by her husband Israel through his employment dispute
- She has now retired from the Silver Ferns netball team after illustrious career
Maria Folau has retired from the New Zealand national netball team after her husband Israel reached a lucrative settlement with Rugby Australia for being stood down over a controversial Instagram post.
The goal shooter, 32, stood by her husband throughout the dispute and shared his crowd-funding campaign on her social media accounts to meet legal costs.
Her club at the time, the Adelaide Thunderbirds, ruled she did not break their social media policy and she was not punished.
The club offered her a new contract but she turned it down.
Maria Folau has retired from the New Zealand netball team after standing by her husband Israel (pictured together on 2 December) when he was sacked from the Wallabies for making a homophobic Instagram post
On Tuesday the Silver Ferns star announced her retirement after 150 international caps - the second most in New Zealand history after Laura Langman.
Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua said Maria Folau will go down in history as a great player.
'There is something special about watching Maria seamlessly land those long-range goals from any point in the shooting circle without a furrowed brow.
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'You cannot consistently shoot like that unless you are dedicated and committed to your craft. She will be long remembered for what she has brought to the game, and we will dearly miss her,' Taurua said.
Folau made her debut aged 18 as Maria Tutaia against Jamaica in 2005.
That year she also won the Netball World Youth Cup with the New Zealand U21 team.
Twelve months later, Folau had become a regular starter for the Silver Ferns and had been a mainstay for the national side ever since.
She represented New Zealand at four Commonwealth Games (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018) and will be remembered for calmly netting the winning goal in sudden death extra time for the gold medal in Delhi in 2010.
Maria Folau with Israel Folau on their wedding day. The couple are both devout Christians
Folau also competed at four Netball World Cups including in Sydney in 2015 when she became just the fourth Silver Fern to earn 100 Test caps.
This year she played a major role in helping the Silver Ferns to victory in Liverpool in what was her Netball World Cup swansong.
Earlier this month Israel Folau settled his employment dispute with Rugby Australia for an undisclosed fee reportedly over $3 million.
Folau had made a claim for $14million in compensation after he had his Wallabies contract torn up by Rugby Australia over an Instagram post in April in which he posted a biblical passage that said 'hell awaits' gay people and others 'sinners' who do not repent.
Israel and Maria Folau said they are extremely pleased after being handed a payout by Rugby Australia
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