Australia on losing Sione Tuipulotu to Scotland and why Murrayfield test will be 'hardest one yet'

Wallabies lock has say on facing Australian-born Scotland captain

The Australia squad were understandably feeling the chill in Edinburgh on Wednesday as temperatures dropped below freezing.

The sudden cold snap forced them on to the artificial pitch at their training base after a hard frost set in overnight. Coping with challenging conditions are all part of touring and the Wallabies have managed to overcome all obstacles placed in their path thus far. Their opening win over England at Twickenham caused most observers to sit up and take notice, making reports of Australia’s demise in rugby union premature to say the least.

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They followed it up by swatting Wales aside in Cardiff at the weekend, inflicting upon their hosts a record 52-20 loss in the fixture. The bandwagon rolls into Murrayfield on Sunday with hopes still alive of emulating the great Australia Grand Slam touring team of 1984 who took all four scalps.

The class of 2024 are only halfway there, with Scotland and Ireland still to beat, and Will Skelton, their battle-hardened lock, isn’t getting carried away.

Will Skelton during an Australia training session at Peffermill Playing Fields on November 20, in Edinburgh, Scotland.  (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)Will Skelton during an Australia training session at Peffermill Playing Fields on November 20, in Edinburgh, Scotland.  (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)
Will Skelton during an Australia training session at Peffermill Playing Fields on November 20, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group) | SNS Group

“We have won two games and this Test against Scotland is going to be the hardest one yet,” he said.

The last two games between the sides have been close. Scotland edged it 15-13 at home in 2021 thanks in part to a spectacular try on his debut from Ewan Ashman. Australia gained revenge one year later when they won 16-15 at Murrayfield as Blair Kinghorn missed a last-gasp penalty for victory.

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“It’s always quite tight,” said Skelton. “Physically they are up there with the top five in the world, Set-piece, they are really strong and have a maestro out the back in Finn Russell. I think it’s going to be a close one, and we will be up for it.

“Our games are always quite even and it’s always a physical contest. There are some class players in the Scottish team and when they’re at it, they are world class, so we’ll have to be on top of our game.

“They played Portugal last week with a different 23 that played against the Springboks, so they will be well rested and ready to throw all they can at us this week. It’ll be about us stepping into that and really nailing down our detail and preparations to be at our best come Sunday.”

Sione Tuipulotu was born in Australia but captains Scotland.Sione Tuipulotu was born in Australia but captains Scotland.
Sione Tuipulotu was born in Australia but captains Scotland. | SNS Group / SRU

With Scotland being captained by Australian-born Sione Tuipulotu the match has an added piquancy. The centre is well know to Skelton who rates him highly.

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“I think he played at the [Melbourne] Rebels a few times and I have played against Glasgow a couple of times at club level [with La Rochelle]. He’s a class player, good with and without the ball, as a gain-line carrier. It’s awesome to see an Australian playing and captaining another country, it’s cool. He’s going to be a handful this week and we’ll be ready to try to nullify him.”

Asked if Tuipulotu was one that got away from the Wallabies, Skelton added: “I think there’s a few like that in world rugby – a guy like Mack Hansen too, who’s killing it for Ireland. If you were in their shoes when they were not getting what they wanted in Australia, they have looked overseas and taken those opportunities, It is credit to them to be able to play at the highest levels of international footy.

“There’s another Australian Samoan boy, Mani Meafou, who’s playing for France. You could easily sit here and say ‘We could have had him in our squad’ but they made those decisions and we are, not all behind them, but cheering them on when it comes to playing international footy and at the highest level. Credit to them and their decisions, and not having any regrets. The question for them is whether they wanted to come and play for us. We are really excited about the squad we have and we back the guys we have here.”

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