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'Offer on table' for Taniela Tupou

By Online Editors
Taniela 'Tongan Thor' Tupou

Taniela Tupou will arrive at the World Cup as the fresh face of a Wallabies forward pack feeling as if he “owes Australia something”.

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Nicknamed Tongan Thor, it would be easy to assume everything is simple in the powerful prop’s crash and bash world.

But Tupou – the pup of the Australian forward pack at 23 and with soft hands that belie his 130kg frame – admitted after Saturday’s tight Test defeat of Argentina that the season had been testing.

On the cusp of re-signing with Rugby Australia, the Queensland Reds powerhouse is back to his best and part of a forward pack that’s doing as coach Michael Cheika hoped before September’s World Cup.

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“There’s an offer on the table … I’ll make my decision in the next few months but I think I still owe Australia something,” he said.

“I haven’t done much here … and I think I might end up staying here.

“At the start of this year I went through a lot, some personal stuff, and it was really tough for me.

“To be honest I didn’t even think I’d be in a team because in my head I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t enjoying it, but I did the right thing in speaking up.”

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Cheika was pleased with how Tupou, James Slipper and Tolu Latu continued the dominance of Argentina’s pack after replacing starters Sekope Kepu, Folau Faingaa and Scott Sio after halftime.

They proved the difference in the end, scrum penalties leading to the Wallabies’ only second-half points as the hosts learnt to accumulate in a much-needed 16-10 victory.

It was a far rosier outcome for Tupou than the preceding week in Johannesburg, where he had his phone stolen out of his hand and was then dubiously yellow-carded for a late hit deemed a shoulder charge by officials in the loss to South Africa.

Tupou admitted he had stopped himself from barrelling into a similar scenario in Brisbane and his coach said those efforts hadn’t gone unnoticed.

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“Taniela’s been working on himself hard to get better (to see) if he can fulfil his potential,” Cheika said.

“I thought the starting front row and the replacements did very well.”

– AAP

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Bull Shark 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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