Folau, who has escaped punishment from Rugby Australia, caused uproar when he said gay people were destined for hell "unless they repent of their sins and turn to God".

Perenara added his voice to those condemning the Australia fullback as he took to social media to show his support for young people "who may be struggling with their identity".

"I'd like to add my voice to the conversation currently taking place. As professional rugby players, whether we like it or not, we are role models for a lot of young people," he wrote on Twitter.

"Let it go on record that I am 100 percent against the comments that were made by Israel. It was not ok to say that. It's not an attitude I want to see in the game I love. There is no justification for such harmful comments."

Perenara donated NZ$500 [£258] to a fundraising page for the NZ Falcons, an Auckland-based gay rugby club, and also posted links to organisations that support young Maori and Pasifika people in New Zealand.

Brad Weber, Perenara's fellow All Black, was the first top-level player to speak out against Folau's comments and he has since been joined by international referee Nigel Owens.

"Judge me and other gay people, judge them on the content of their character, not their sexuality," Owens told the Unfiltered podcast.