A new fundraising platform set up for Israel Folau has drawn a staggering response with £545 (A$1,000) a minute flooding in for the disgraced former Wallabies superstar.
Folau is on target to pocket more than A$1,000,000 (£545,000) in less than a day, after a campaign launched by the Australian Christian Lobby attracted hundreds of donors to help his legal fight against Rugby Australia.
The new site has already raised more than the GoFundMe page set up by Folau last week, that was shut down on Monday by the company for breaching rules and refunds handed back to donors.
That prompted the Australian Christian Lobby to get involved and they kick-started the fund with a £54,500 (A$100,000) donation of their own.
Multimillionaire Folau is asking for public donations to fund his legal battle with Rugby Australia after the code's governing body sacked him for a "high-level breach" of the professional players' code of conduct.
Folau posted a photo on Instagram on April 10 that said homosexuals were destined for hell unless they repented their sins.
Legal experts have expressed their bewilderment at why Folau wants A$3 million (£1.65m) when his fees won't come close to that figure.
ACL's group's managing director Martyn Iles tweeted a link to the new page early Tuesday morning, saying he had spoken to the ex-Australian rugby player and "we fixed it".
"Recently, the online fundraising platform GoFundMe and turned away hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations," Iles said on the website.
"On behalf of the Australian Christian Lobby, I have spoken to Israel Folau to let him know that ACL will be donating A$100,000 to his legal defence, because it's right and it sets an important legal precedent.
"I have also offered to host his online appeal for funds here on our website and he has accepted our offer.
"All gifts you give on this web page will be deposited into a trust account to pay for Israel Folau's legal case. So, please give generously today to help Israel Folau stand for your religious freedom."
Earlier Folau said GoFundMe's decision to cancel his campaign was disappointing and they had "buckled" under media pressure.
"Unfortunately, GoFundMe has buckled to demands against the freedom of Australians to donate to his cause.
"There appears to be a continuing campaign of discrimination against Israel and his supporters."
Folau's team also revealed his website had been targeted by a "sustained cyberattack", and said there had been a deliberate attempt to vilify his wife, netballer Maria Folau, for supporting him.
