Sione Tuipulotu urges wee brother Mosese to follow his own path but Gregor Townsend has shown an interest

Sione Tuipulotu impressed in his first season in Scottish rugby, cementing his place in the Glasgow Warriors backline and breaking into the national side during the autumn Tests, before playing in the Six Nations and the Argentina series.

But he is not the only Tuipulotu who offers a potent attacking threat as a hard-running centre. Sione’s younger brother Mosese is coming up fast on the rails. The 20-year-old is with the Waratahs in Sydney and has been capped by Australia at under-18 level. Not surprisingly, Gregor Townsend has already had a word with Sione about him but the Glasgow back is keen for Mosese to follow his own path, even though he would love to play alongside him one day.

Sione headed back to Australia after Scotland’s summer tour of South America and took the opportunity to see both his younger brothers play. It was his first time home in two years and he was impressed by what he saw.

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“My little brother, Mosese, is at the Waratahs at the moment. He’s 20 and a centre as well so I’m hoping he doesn’t come over here!” joked Sione.

Mosese Tuipulotu, younger brother of Sione, is with the Waratahs in New South Wales. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)Mosese Tuipulotu, younger brother of Sione, is with the Waratahs in New South Wales. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)
Mosese Tuipulotu, younger brother of Sione, is with the Waratahs in New South Wales. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)

“I went to watch him play a club game. And my littlest brother is still at school and just finishing his final year. He’s a hooker. They’re both really keen on their rugby so it was pretty cool to see them. You can only dream about playing with your brothers one day. Maybe we could link up at some time.

“I don’t know if Mosese is on Scotland’s radar or if Gregor’s had a little look at him. But Gregor has spoken to me a couple of times about him. It’s a funny one as my brother is on his own path after growing up being compared to me and vice versa. He wants to run his own race. I’m really supportive of whatever he wants to do. If it were up to me I’d want him to come here so we could play together but at the moment he’s got his own plans.

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“He’s a couple of inches taller than me – he got the height gene! But he’s pretty similar to me; a Scottish-Tongan centre who likes ball carrying.”

Sione Tuipulotu training at Scotstoun in preparation for the URC opener against Benetton away.  (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)Sione Tuipulotu training at Scotstoun in preparation for the URC opener against Benetton away.  (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)
Sione Tuipulotu training at Scotstoun in preparation for the URC opener against Benetton away. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

That’s for the future. The present is the new BKT United Rugby Championship season which kicks off on Friday with Glasgow heading to Italy under new coach Franco Smith to take on Benetton.

The Warriors have come a cropper on their last two visits to Treviso and Tuipulotu has tried to block out last season’s 19-18 defeat when Leonardo Marin’s last-gasp penalty snatched victory for the home side.

“I played in that one but I don’t like talking about it actually,” said the 25-year-old. “It’s a tough place to play. You don’t know what to expect from them and they’ve surprised a lot of teams travelling over there. In the past few years maybe people went over there underestimating them.”

The versatile Tuipulotu played at both inside and outside centre last season, and also appeared on the wing. He says he is comfortable in all three positions and eager to get going again.

“I’d say I’m more excited this year than I was last year after having my first season and feeling really settled at the club with friends and family.”

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