Kepu Tuipulotu: 'I just thought England was the correct pathway for me'

Kepu Tuipulotu made headlines at the start of January with his decision to continue playing for England, the land of his schooling, rather than Wales where he was born and his family live. Having graduated from Caldicott and Harrow schools and skippered the English at U18s, the 19-year-old Pontypool-born hooker recently made his first-team breakthrough at Bath. Now he is limbering up for the Six Nations U20s with Mark Mapletoft’s new-look, title-defending squad.

The Tuipulotu name is already high profile. Kepu’s dad Sione is a retired midfielder who played at two Rugby World Cups for Tonga, his sister Sisilia currently props for Gloucester and Wales, while cousin Carwyn has made numerous appearances as the Scarlets No8 and moved to Saracens on loan last Friday.

Dad was an important sounding board when Kepu decided allegiance. “I leaned on my dad,” he enthused to RugbyPass over why he is sticking with England and not going down the Wales route. “He is quite level-headed in terms of everything that he says.

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“He also wants the best for me, and I was making my decision based upon him and what his thoughts were. He had the same view as me in terms of whatever jersey I wear, he wants me to be the best I can be as a rugby player and I can give my all to that jersey.

“It was quite difficult. My sister is playing for Wales and I’m here representing England age-grade. That was a key factor in why it was so difficult. Also, my family live in Wales. But with my schooling in England and anything I have done in age-grade rugby, it eased making a decision a little bit.

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“I just want to be the best I can at the highest level and I just thought England was the right pathway. Going through the England pathway, I can develop my game to a whole other level and can also gain experiences from the older lads that I wouldn’t necessarily get in other places.

“My decision to play for England is based on how can I become the best I can in an environment that is world-class and also pushing for my success, so I thought England was the correct pathway for me.”

England’s gain is very much Wales’ loss. Tuipulotu retains strong memories of being a ballboy at Stourbridge when dad was winding down his playing career in England but it was only when retirement resulted in the family heading west back across the Severn Bridge that Kepu first began togging out.

“I only started playing rugby when I moved back to Wales around the age of nine or 10,” he explained. “We were living in Worcester, I started playing football. Then I came back to Wales and my uncle took me down to rugby training with my cousin and that was my first memory of giving rugby a proper go.

“One of the coaches asked, ‘What position do you want to play in?’ I said I’d be the centre like my dad. I spent two years playing rugby in Wales growing up and then got a scholarship to go to Caldicott for two years until I went to Harrow from year nine to year 13.”

Why football initially and why did rugby ultimately win his heart? “At a young age, it was more about yourself and I wanted to score goals. Coming over to Wales and playing rugby, you don’t really care who scored as long as your team did.

“It was more about team success rather than individual success and that rugby aspect in the team environment, how it brings people together, is why I chose to stick with rugby.”

It’s been quite the adventure… and not all plain sailing. Tuipulotu was at London Irish when they went bust in summer 2023 and the stress affected his schoolwork. “When the club went under we knew that the academy was still going on, so I was going to stay for one more year as I had one more year at school. But it was that uncertainty of, ‘What have I got to do after school?’

Just watch him go… #KepuTuipulotu A young man with an exciting future ahead of him ???#ImWithTDB #KeepingYouRIGHT #Rugby #EnglandRugby #WearTheRose #U18InternationalSeries pic.twitter.com/sYZMngGJDq

— TDB Sports | Global (@TDB_Sports) August 15, 2023

“That uncertainty put my head drifting away from my school work into, ‘What are my plans next year? What am I going to do?’ But luckily I received a contract from Bath and that allowed me to see I had a future, I have got a plan and a solid foundation to build upon.

“But I felt at the start it was a bit of, ‘Oh, what do I do? The curiosity of what am I going to do next’. It was quite a weird moment to be in at such a young age and still being at school. You perceive rugby as a future and then the club going under, it did leave me quite worried about what I would do next.”

Right now, Tuipulotu is in a sweet spot, studying sports management at Bath University and learning the pro rugby ropes with Johann van Grann’s Bath squad. “Being in that Champions Cup environment making my debut, it just accelerated my development,” he explained.

“I have still got a long way to go but just being around those players like Finn Russell, Thomas du Toit, just having those conversations before or after training, looking at the clips, it really develops me as a person and also as a player.

“Scrummaging was one of my key focuses going into the building, ‘How do I proceed to the first team?’ And then having that scrummaging conversation with Thomas du Toit, scrummaging against Tom Dunn, Niall Annett, I really grew in terms of now I have all the tools in my bag that I can now problem solve there.

“I feel like with Johann giving me the opportunity and putting his faith in me in the first team in front of the lads helped me with my development massively in terms of growing and getting better as a player.”

Kepu Tuipulotu… remember the name. Some player!

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Adding value are regular meetings with the club psychologist for mental tips on enhancing the consistency of his lineout throwing. Peppering the nutritionist for advice has also been beneficial.

“I really like knuckling down into the process because I remember Champions Cup when it was my first lineout, we were up by about five points and I had to nail the lineout for us to exit. Then in the Prem with my first lineout, there was one point in it with two minutes left and I also had to hit it as well.

“The support staff helping me at Bath, I can’t thank them enough. The weight is about clean muscle. I’m 113kgs and still have my ability to get my ball-carrying game off the line and hit. We want to lose the dead weight but also still keep the same level of impact I bring with my powerfulness. I feel like that is the key factor.”

Focusing on England, Tuipulotu recalled being with his Bath mates at Farleigh House to watch last July’s U20s final from Cape Town. That DHL Stadium win over France completed the World Rugby Championship/Six Nations double and an ambition to replicate this success runs through Mapletoft’s class of 2025.

“The success of last year has set the standard and coming in as a newcomer, that is the aim: ‘How do we go and better that? How do we push for that same success they had last year?’ It has brought a great impact on the group.

“Yes, we did it last year but it brings a big emphasis on – let’s go again, we’re restarting at zero, we’re back at level ground with the other nations taking it one step at a time in the Six Nations now.”

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Much was made about the strength of the ‘brotherhood’ forged last year that helped England over the line, and the aim is to nurture a similar bond. “You’re just gelling with the lads, having that aspect of the brotherhood off the field which will hopefully translate on the field in times of fatigue or stress so you can really rely on each other to pull through. The brotherhood in camp is quite big, quite strong.”

England kick off their campaign away to Ireland on January 30 and will be at home in Bath versus France on February 7. Tuipulotu, who was invited on a recce with Steve Borthwick’s Test squad in November, will have a huge family backing at The Rec.

“It’s quite cool having some home games in Bath, so we will probably see a great big group of Tongans coming to watch and they will probably be very loud as well. I love that aspect of it, them bringing the energy in the crowd.

“It’s quite special having my family come to every game they can. I don’t only play for myself and my team, I also play for my family and the care and love they show for me. The Polynesian culture is quite big in my family with both my parents being Tongan.

“There is that aspect of them not wanting to lose any part of me being Tongan. Like speaking the language, for example. Or when I am at home reading the bible in Tongan. Just having that aspect of me not losing touch with my roots, where my parents are from and where my culture comes from. It gives me that ability to pass that down in the future as well with it not being lost.”

Tuipulotu has visited the Pacific islands and, in line with Polynesian culture, is reportedly quite the singer. “I went ages ago, 2015 or 2016, and my family went this summer just gone. I was in pre-season so I couldn’t go but I’d love to go in the near future and see my family.

“I feel like I have got a good set of pipes. Apparently, the (England U20s) lads disagree which is a bit incorrect. I like to sing, like being in company with a bit of music you can sing along to. If I Were A Boy by Beyonce is probably at the top of my playlist now, or Spotlight by Jennifer Hudson. Lyrical songs to get everyone singing to. That’s the approach for me.”

 

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