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'No doubt the best tighthead in the world now' - Taniela Tupou is a 'must start' for the Wallabies after decimating All Blacks with cameo
Poor discipline cost both teams during the first-half, with All Black Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Wallabies debutant Lachlan Swinton both shown red cards for separate incidents. But it was the Wallabies who handled the pressure better, with a clinical display off the tee from Reece Hodge guiding the hosts to a two-point lead inside the final 10 minutes.
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But a try to replacement Taniela Tupou sealed the deal for the Wallabies, capping off what was a great cameo from the powerful prop.
Tupou was subbed on with just over 25 minutes to play, and the Wallabies almost immediately benefited from his impact.
Just a few minutes after coming on, the man known as the ‘Tongan Thor’ monstered his way through the All Blacks scrum to earn his side a kickable penalty when they were trailing by four-points at the time. The Brisbane crowd erupted and Fox Sports commentator, Greg Martin, simply said, “the game has changed” with the 24-year-old on the field.
Fans on Twitter seemed to echo Martin’s view, with Tupou continuing to create havoc as the match went on.
Tupou is a monster. No one that big should be able to move like that. It's just not fair. #AUSvNZL #BledisloeCup
— Master Of None Podcast (@MasterOfNonePod) November 7, 2020
Man I'm so impressed with how Tupou has improved. He's always had big carries but his improvement in scrummaging is immense. Wallabies would be struggling without his scrum penalties and big carries. #AUSvNZL
— Such Is Life…. (@EnslinMavunga) November 7, 2020
Now that Tupou can scrummage, there is no doubt he is the best tighthead in the world right now – & this is from a NZ fan.#AUSvNZL #BledisloeCup
— Anthony Posa (@AntsPosa) November 7, 2020
https://twitter.com/mattagriffiths/status/1325028306274562049
What a beast! He was unreal through every phase leading to that try!
— LDF (@lften10) November 7, 2020
Destruction
— Richard Booth (@RichardB3127) November 7, 2020
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Taniela Tupou is pretty unstoppable
— Phil Michel (@m1che2) November 7, 2020
Taniela Tupou is our new national hero
What a beast #BledisloeCup
— Tim Michell (@tim_michell) November 7, 2020
Tupou sent his home crowd into a frenzy with five minutes to play when he muscled his was over for a try that put his side up by eight points after it was converted.
? Starts and ends with big Nela
?? Saturday 21 November 7:45PM AEDT
?? McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
?? https://t.co/z47Xtkmbx8
#AUSvNZL #Wallabies #BledisloeCup #TriNations #YourTeam #OurJourney pic.twitter.com/gBnKdQgj5DADVERTISEMENT— Wallabies (@wallabies) November 8, 2020
12 phases into a relentless Wallabies attack deep inside their attacking 22, Tupou got the ball just a metre out from the line and scored by beating experienced campaigners in TJ Perenara and Anton Lienert-Brown.
The prop had also made his mark on attack leading up to the score, bumping aside Sam Whitelock, Reiko Ioane and Ardie Savea. Tupou finished Bledisloe IV with 20 post-contact metres from his four runs.
Taniela Tupou destroyed the scrum, two runs to hit the gain line and give momentum and a try….Impact player in the final quarter of the match. Please do not blow this #AUSvNZL
— Cohiba Smoke (@CircusMaximu5) November 7, 2020
Great impact from Taniela Tupou. Match winner ??#AusvNZ
— Ed Griffith (@edgriff68) November 7, 2020
Congratulations @wallabies on the win! Players were ‘gelling’ well by 2nd half! Bloody brilliant work by @MarikaKoroibete and what a machine @TanielaTupou !!
— Kathy Fuller (Heaney) (@KathleanFuller) November 7, 2020
Taniela Tupou is a great player, how the hell do you stop that bloke. He’s a fridge freezer
— Mathew Nash (@mathew_nash89) November 7, 2020
That should be the winner for Taniela Tupou. Deservedly scores after twice breaking the All Blacks’ defensive line in that movement. All Blacks have been there for the taking in this Test.#AUSvNZL
— Dylan Jack (@dylanmattjack) November 7, 2020
There is no way you could incentivize me to try and tackle either Ardie or Taniela Tupou. I’m all the way good.
— Vincent T (@Vin_Tru) November 7, 2020
Taniela Tupou powered over Whitelock, R. Ioane & Savea before scoring through Perenara & Lienert-Brown in 3 carries. Finished with 4 runs, 75% gain line success, 20 metres post contact, most of it before that try. Add in that scrum pen. Great cameo. Couldn’t be stopped. #AUSvNZL
— Ben Smith (@bensmithrugby) November 8, 2020
Taniela Tupou is so smooth for a big guy, the way he evaded the tackle to set up the try was just ?
— Patrik Bexell (@Zeb_Habs) November 7, 2020
Tupou’s cameo also reignites the debate for who should start at tighthead prop for the Wallabies. Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa has come into the first XV for the last two tests, while Tupou started the first two.
While his impact off the bench can’t be questioned, fans want to see more of the Tongan Thor from the opening whistle.
Why did the @wallabies start without @TanielaTupou though? They lost a lot of power from their forwards with him warming the bench. If I was the Australia coach, this bloke would be the first name on my starting lineup! #TriNations @TheChai_vinist
— RantingMrP (@RantingMrP) November 7, 2020
Getting very 2020 vibes from Australia’s continuous reluctance to start Taniela Tupou at tighthead. Barmy; the bloke’s different gravy. #BledisloeCup
— Charles Richardson (@CERichardson_) November 7, 2020
Told yers.
Taniela Tupou goes over for the winning try against the All Blacks.
How on earth was he ever dropped after his extraordinary performance in the First Test?
Wallabies ahead 24-15, four mins to go.— Peter FitzSimons (@Peter_Fitz) November 7, 2020
After starting the series with a 16-all draw in Wellington, the win see the Wallabies avoid a winless record against the All Blacks this year.
While it could be a turning point for the Wallabies going forward, coach Dave Rennie isn’t completely satisfied.
“You don’t win the Bledisloe Cup by winning one and drawing one,” Rennie said post-match.
“What it tells us is that if we work hard enough for each other we can get results against anyone.
“But it doesn’t count for much tonight unless we back it up against Argentina in a couple of weeks.”
The Wallabies next take the field at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium on the 21st, where they’ll look to improve on their one win, one loss record in the Tri Nations.
They’ll face Argentina who got the better of non-matchday squad members in two meetings over the past two weeks. More recently, the likes of Fraser McReight and Isi Naisarani were included in a Rugby Australia XV that lost to the Puma 57-24 at Leichhardt Oval.
Comments on RugbyPass
Farcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to comments