Chris Chester: We’re focusing on ourselves, not Israel Folau

James Messenger 08 Feb 2020 5:03 PM

Wakefield head coach Chris Chester is refusing to let the furore surrounding the arrival of Israel Folau detract from the job his side are tasked with this weekend.

Trinity are using the visit of Folau’s new club Catalans Dragons to celebrate inclusivity in rugby league by inviting LGBT groups to the game.

This comes after Folau claimed “hell awaits” gay people in controversial social media posts last year. He was subsequently sacked by Rugby Australia, but has been handed a career lifeline in the South of France.

Folau has not been named in the Dragons’ 21-man squad for this weekend’s game but is training with his new team-mates ahead of a return to action.

Nevertheless, Chester insists his side need to focus solely on the prospect of facing a physical Dragons outfit looking to bounce back from last week’s shock home defeat to Huddersfield.

“It hasn’t dominated things here at Wakefield Trinity,” he said. “We’ve got a job to do, we’ve got a game to prepare for.

“There’s a lot of improvement in this team and we’re looking to put that right this weekend. We’re coming up against a real big side in Catalans Dragons and we have to make sure we match their physicality.

“There’s some big guys there – there’s (Sam) Kasiano, (Remi) Casty and (Julian) Bousquet in the middle – and they’ve got a bit of strike on the edge.

“It’s going to be a real big challenge for us, along with the weather conditions that are forecast for the weekend. That’s going to really test our skill as well.

“Fingers crossed we put in a real good performance everybody can be proud of.”