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'As a prop, that's a dream': Daunting Wallaby pack awaits Scotland

By Ben Smith
(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

The addition of European-based stars Will Skelton and Rory Arnold has bolstered the Wallaby pack ahead of this week’s test match against Scotland at Murrayfield.

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Taniela Tupou is excited about the prospect of linking up with the pair, saying that it is a ‘dream’ scenario to have the power of Will Skelton behind him at scrum time in the second row.

“We were just talking about it yesterday. Because I’ve never really played with Will, just imagine having him behind me or Allan or any of the tightheads,” Tupou told the media.

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“As a prop, that’s a dream. You don’t have to do much, you just be in good shape and Will will do the rest, so looking forward to it.”

The Queensland Reds’ tighthead prop has emerged over the last 12 months as one of the most devastating front rowers in the game, and at 25-years-old has matured a lot with his game since he last played at Murrayfield as a debutant in 2017.

Tupou came off the bench in the midst of a catastrophic performance by the Wallabies, as Scotland piled on the points to rout Australia by a score of 53-24.

“It’s funny because, back in 2017, I came yesterday, got my key, went into the room, they put me in the same room on the same level as I was a few years ago, and we’re playing on Sunday, When I made my debut, I remember my debut was on Sunday too, so it’s just funny how everything can work,” he said.

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“It’s good to be back here and looking forward to hopefully playing this week.”

Tupou admitted that he hasn’t watched the tape of that outing, but is keen on reversing the result on Sunday.

“I haven’t watched the game since I played, but not the best game, so hopefully we change that around this weekend.”

With 35 tests under his belt now, Tupou returns to Murrayfield with a different mindset this time with experience having become a central figure within Dave Rennie’s squad either as a starter or as a damaging impact player late in games.

As a result, Tupou says he is enjoying this tour as an older member of the touring squad who is able to just be himself around his teammates.

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“To be honest, I think I’ve enjoyed this one a lot better,” Tupou explained.

“I’m a lot older and I’m not the 18-year-old kid who’s just joined the team. I can be myself with the boys and I can offer something, too, not just being around here not knowing if you’re going to play or not and it’s just a lot different coming this time, but, again, looking forward to it, man.”

Although Will Skelton hasn’t yet played with Taniela Tupou, the pair were together in the squad on Skelton’s last European tour on 2016 when the younger prop was an apprentice.

He said easing back into the squad with Tupou and his other new teammates has been rather easy and was positive about the Wallabies environment.

“I met Nela in 2016 on my last Spring tour. There’s a few guys I hadn’t met, but they’re very welcoming. You can see the camaraderie in the group, everyone cares about each other.

“There was a bit of banter on the first day, too, which was nice. The Aussie accent, I don’t know if I’ve missed that – Nela’s Aussie accent.”

Skelton said the newcomers are getting up to speed quickly on the style of play that they will play against Scotland, with a ‘simple’ shape that they plan on running. With the power now at Rennie’s disposal, you would expect to see a lot of big men carrying the ball.

“We went through a bit of detail last night. The shape’s quite simple. It’s something that, as a rugby player, you’ve got to get used to quickly,” he said.

“We’ll see what Rens is thinking, but we’ll definitely be putting our hand up, all of the boys who have come in, because we’re not here to just sit back and train for the three weeks.

“We want to try and be involved and put our hand up for selection. We’ll be trying to get our head around it for Sunday with a seven-day turnaround.”

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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