Mosese Tuipulotu on Scottish Rugby radar with reports of lucrative multi-year deal on offer

Sione Tuipulotu has been one of the stand-out successes of this season’s Six Nations and now Scottish Rugby wants to sign up his little brother.

Mosese Tuipulotu has been named on the bench for the Waratahs' Super Rugby match against Hurricanes. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)

Like Sione, Mosese Tuipulotu is a centre, and is currently on the verge of a breakthrough with the New South Wales Waratahs. He has been named on the bench for Friday’s match against the Hurricanes and is expected to make his Super Rugby debut in Wellington. His long-term future may lie in Scotland, however. He is a player who is of considerable interest to Murrayfield where his progress is being carefully monitored. A report in the Sydney Morning Herald claims the SRU is keen to entice him with a multi-year deal worth £123,000 per annum, dwarfing the £46,750 salary he currently earns.

The Tuipulotus, who were born in Australia, qualify for Scotland through their grandmother from Greenock. The speed with which Sione established himself after joining Glasgow Warriors at the start of last season will encourage the SRU to consider a move for Mosese as the organisation relies more and more on its ‘SQ programme’ which scours the globe for Scottish-qualified talent.

The uncapped 21-year-old was quoted recently as saying he wanted to play for Australia, but big brother Sione has suggested otherwise. “I’m not sure it’s that true, to be honest,” Tuipulotu senior said last month. “I don’t know if they mixed up a couple of quotes or whatever. I speak to my brother quite often and his motivation is that he’s still got six months left with the Waratahs and he wants to play as much Super Rugby this year as he possibly can. He’s started well in pre-season but at the end of the day he’s got two Wallaby centres ahead of him in Lalakai Foketi and Izaia Perese.

“My brother dances to the beat of his own drum and while I’m over here he wants to do his thing, so that might be staying in Australia or might be coming over here. He holds his cards close to his chest. He’s a centre too so maybe Gregor [Townsend] is talking to him on the sly. I always say that if he was to come over then send him to Edinburgh because I don’t want him to steal my position at Glasgow!”

Sione Tuipulotu has been outstanding over the course of the Six Nations, striking up a great understanding with his centre partner and Glasgow Warriors team-mate Huw Jones. Jones’ four tries make his the championship’s top try-scorer and Tuipulotu has created three of them.