Tuipulotu strives for business as usual despite Melbourne roots

Sione Tuipulotu says he is striving to treat today’s Murrayfield showdown with Australia like any other game, despite the added personal significance attached to the fixture.

The Scotland captain was born and raised in Melbourne and is close friends with a number of the Wallaby players. His Greenock-born grandmother, Jaqueline Thomson, through whom he qualifies to wear the thistle, has also travelled to Edinburgh to watch her grandson in action in her homeland for the first time.

Footage of her surprising Tuipulotu in the Murrayfield dressing room won the hearts of a nation when it was shared by the Scottish Rugby Union last week, but the Glasgow Warriors centre insists he has been trying to make it a case of business as usual.

“Obviously for all those reasons, it’s a really special game for me, but I’ve tried not to make it something bigger than it is,” he said. “I suppose playing Australia is one thing, but the more special thing for me is playing in front of my gran and I don’t want to make it any bigger than that. I’ve taken my preparation really seriously this week, just trying to not change anything.

“I know it’s a big game for the media in terms of me playing back against Australia but it’s probably just more of a special game for me because my granny gets to watch me play and for her to be back in her home country. When I run out, I’ll look up and see her in the stands and she’ll sing the anthem. It will be special for me and my family and, most importantly, special for my gran. I’m so happy that she gets to have this experience because I wouldn’t be here without her and she deserves all the credit she’s been getting.

“I had dinner with her that night [after the dressing room reunion] just because I was so stoked to see her. She was really jet lagged, but she still had a lot to say at dinner and then I think after dinner she was spent and she went upstairs and slept for quite a while. She’s been charging up the last couple of days just trying to correct the jet lag.

“I hadn’t seen my granny in four years. I’ve only ever spoken to her on FaceTime off my mum’s phone. And to be fair, every time I do speak to her, bless her, she’s always in a dressing gown and maybe just woken up with a cup of tea too.

“So to be honest, when I saw her, when I walked into the room, my impression was that she looked the same. If anything, she looked way younger than last time, when I saw her on FaceTime. Whether that’s because my mum had done her up and put her lippy and makeup on and stuff like that, I don’t know.
“She said that we [Tuipulotu and his brother, the Edinburgh and Scotland A centre Mosese] are still her two wee men!”

Tuipulotu played professionally for the Melbourne Rebels back in Australia, but had to move to Japan and then Scotstoun (in 2021) to find the regular rugby he craved. Asked whether facing Australia was an opportunity for him to prove a point, his answer was non-committal.

“It’s a difficult question. I think if you asked me that maybe three years ago or four years ago when I first left Australia, I had so much, I suppose, animosity or professional anger inside of me just because I felt like maybe my talent really wasn’t looked after in Australia. But, to be honest, now I feel like I am where I’m supposed to be, here in Scotland. And I feel like all those things that happened early in my career were meant to happen because now I’m sitting here talking to you guys, in the position that I am. It’s funny, you always want to play a lot harder against your mates and I have a lot of mates in that Wallaby team. So that’s just going to be normal. But I’m sure it’s the same for them.”

Tuipulotu and his centre partner Huw Jones are relishing the prospect of a midfield head-to-head with the still often underrated Len Ikitau and the new golden boy of Australian rugby, the 21-year-old league convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. “He [Suaalii] is an amazing talent,” Tuipulotu agreed. “Me and my brother are big rugby league fans, so we’ve watched a lot of him when he was playing at the Chooks [Sydney Roosters] and he’s an amazing talent, a really good athlete.

“Me and Shug [Jones] versus Len and Suaalii, it’s going to be a really tasty battle and it’s one that me and Shug are really looking forward to.

“It’s testament to his [Suaalii’s] talent, no doubt about it and I think he deserves it. There are not many players like that who get fast-tracked to Test rugby that quickly. I know a couple of the Chooks boys — they say he’s a really good kid and that’s probably why he’s progressed so well and so quickly. Len’s been one of the best midfielders in this Autumn Nations Series, and I’m really happy for him.”

Several members of the Scotland camp, including the head coach Gregor Townsend, have freely acknowledged that the success of the autumn campaign as a whole hinges on today’s outcome.
“I don’t want to sit here and be delusional about it all,” Tuipulotu said. “We understand the importance of this game and we understand the importance of this game for what we want later on in this rugby season, in terms of the Six Nations and everything like that. And the group is well aware of that and we’re not shying away from any of that in terms of it being the be-all and end-all.

“I’m not too sure about that or if I can agree on that. But I’ve put importance on this game and the importance of a win in this game just for myself. And I know the group feel the same about it.”

Scotland v Australia

Sunday November 24. Murrayfield, kick-off: 1.40pm
TV: TNT Sports 1

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