Maria Tutaia

Folau married in secret ceremony

7th Tackle can reveal Folau married his NZ-based fiancé, Maria Tutaia, yesterday. The wedding took place before a select number of guests on a private property in Kangaroo Valley, around two hours south of Sydney.

The timing of yesterday’s ceremony could not have been more ironic, given Folau’s public stance against gay marriage. The devout Mormon caused a storm last month when he tweeted his views against the law change.

Tutaia trumps rugby for Folau

Folau, who earns more than A$1 million (NZ$1.1m) annually on his ARU contract, was set to join Japan's cashed up Panasonic Wild Knights team under former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans as part of a clause in his deal, according to the Daily Telegraph.

"We're both just having time off, we haven't figured out a wedding date yet, but it's pretty hard at the moment because of our seasons," Folau told the Daily Telegraph.

 "We're not in a rush to get things done, we're just really trying to enjoy our time together because we don't get a lot of that together."

Maria Tutaia turns it on for the Ferns

     

The returning Silver Ferns shooter made a big difference in their attack, as they beat England 62-55 on Thursday night to bounce back from their 49-45 loss last week.

Tutaia missed their past two games while on bereavement leave, so her return gave the Silver Ferns' attack a massive boost, shooting from long range, sometimes near the circle edge, and nailing most of her long bombs.

"She had a great game from a shooting point of view tonight and I think she certainly led that end really well and I think she even got an intercept on defence," Southby said.

Tutaia turned down Oz offers

As reported by Stuff last week, Tutaia has signed a two-year deal with the Mystics. She's currently in camp with the Silver Ferns trial squad ahead of the 11 tests they'll be playing between late August and mid-October.

A player of Tutaia's quality could have picked up a big contract with an Australian team, but she said she wanted to remain on this side of the Tasman.

"There were a few options, but I am very happy here in New Zealand," Tutaia said.

"The relationship and the learning with the Mystics this year is something I wanted to be a part of."

Tutaia to discuss break next year

Tutaia, the most recognisable netball player in New Zealand, has signed a two-year contract with the Mystics, but as part of the deal she'll be able to take a break from the game, possibly during next year's ANZ Premiership.

It's been regarded as a sabbatical, similar to what leading All Blacks have been doing for the past decade.

But Wyllie is shunning away from using the 's' word and prefers to see it as a break.

"We're not seeing this as a sabbatical," Wyllie said.