Israel Folau

Folau tweeted: "I love and respect all people for who they are and their opinions. but personally, I will not support gay marriage."

He was immediately inundated with dozens of replies criticising him for his stance.

Folau is believed to be the first high-profile sportsperson to have publicly announced their opposition to same-sex marriage.

It comes after numerous sporting organisations - including the Australian Rugby Union, the NRL, Cricket Australia and Football Federation Australia - declared their support for a 'yes' vote in the government's postal survey.

Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau will be reunited on Saturday night, and it didn’t take much for the fullback to show exactly why Beale’s return is so anticipated by Australia.

One of Australia’s most prolific Test finishers can’t wait to have his Waratahs teammate back,  just for the flow-on of confidence the utility has in a side.

“You grow that extra leg when you know you have him beside you. He brings a lot more confidence to your game and it’s exciting,” Folau said.

“Guys like KB they don’t come around too often.

He can understand the frustration but strongly believes that it's only a matter of time before the Wallabies produce some high quality rugby.

"Personally, I didn't have a read (of Quigley's post)," he said.

"Only because I believe in the group that we have here and the team that we have, the coaching staff and all the work that goes in.

"I just think personally, as well, I'm sure he's a great guy but everyone is always going to have an opinion - whether that's good or bad.

He and fellow player Manu Vatuvei are the faces on the posters for the Road to Redemption tour, which ends in Auckland on Thursday night.

Kaniva New reports born to Tongan parents in New South Wales, Folau played rugby league for the Melbourne Storm in the Australia National Rugby League from 2007 to 2008 and for the Brisbane Broncos from 2009 to 2010.