Israel Folau says he is “very disappointed” after being ruled out of playing against the British and Irish Lions – and said he was told Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh was “open to the idea” before the ex-Wallaby star enthusiastically put himself forward to represent a AUNZ XV.

In his latest social media post on Instagram, the 35-year-old, who last played for Australia in 2018 and is currently playing in Japan, expressed his unease at being thrust back into the media limelight – making it clear he wouldn’t have done so if he did not believe RA supported his return.

Waugh later said a Folau return was “never discussed”, which has clearly angered the star outside back.

Folau, who has since switched to Tonga, told News Corp that it would be an “awesome opportunity” to play the Lions in front of family.

Five days after the story surfaced, Waugh officially shut the door on Folau featuring against the Lions because he didn’t qualify to play in the invitational match.

In the meantime, there had been a hostile reaction in Australian rugby circles to the suggestion Folau might be allowed to play against the Lions.

In early 2019 Folau was sacked by Rugby Australia after an Instagram post where he said homosexuals and other groups such as drunks and atheists would go to hell unless they repented their sins.

Israel Folau says he’s been left “disappointed” at being led to believe he was eligible to play for the AUNZ invitational side against the Lions in July. (Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)

“We’re also not pursuing it,” Waugh told reporters at the Hong Kong Sevens on Saturday.

“The Australia/New Zealand game is eligible [for] Australian players and New Zealanders for the AUNZ game.

“For the First Nations, it’s players who are in the Australian Super Rugby squads with the caveat that if there’s a challenge around depth of team, then we can tap into Moana (Pasifika) and so forth.”

He added: “Through the reset of the game we’ve been pretty considered around all our decisions and pretty open-minded about all the decisions, so to be fair, it hasn’t even been discussed until Israel’s quotes.”

Rugby Australia CEO and former Wallaby Phil Waugh. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)

But Folau, who played 73 Tests for the Wallabies after scoring twice on debut against the Lions in 2013, said he would never have put up his hand to feature in the invitational match if he wasn’t eligible.

“I just wanted to address a couple of things in regards to a few media articles that have been floating around the past week in relation to me playing in this Anzac v Lions game later this year and how this all came about,” Folau said on Instagram.

“I was contacted last week by Jamie Pandaram, who is a journalist from Sydney, and he was in conversations with Phil Waugh, and Phil had told him that he was open to the idea of me being involved in this game if I was interested in that.

“And so Jamie reached out to a good friend, of mine – (former Wallaby) Sekope Kepu – and told him the same thing and made the connection between myself and Jamie.

“I did the interview with Jamie last week and told him that I was definitely interested in that opportunity as I think anyone would in my position.

“Being a professional rugby player, these opportunities don’t come around too often and so I told him I was very interested. If I was fit and selected, it was a game that I’d love to be a part of.

“But recently Phil has come out and shut that down completely for whatever reason and said that I was not eligible to play this game nor was there any discussions around me being involved in this game as well.

“So, look, I’m very disappointed around those comments, particularly after what I was told from Jamie and the conversations he had with Phil.

“It’s disappointing from my point of view, otherwise, I wouldn’t have put myself, I guess, in this position. But you know, it is what it is and I just wanted to address that and I wanted to wish Rugby Australia and Phil Waugh all the best and all the success for the remainder of the season.”

Rugby Australia chose not to comment on Folau’s response when contacted by The Roar on Wednesday night.

Previously Waugh told News Corp that he was willing to break bread with Folau after the three-time John Eales Medallist was sacked by Rugby Australia for bringing the game into disrepute in 2019 following a social media post.

“I would be happy to meet and talk with Israel,” Waugh told News Corp last October.

“Israel was one of the great players of modern Australian rugby.”