Sione Tuipulotu: Scotland captaincy result of putting heart and soul into rugby

Sione Tuipulotu believes his ascent to the Scotland captaincy is a result of putting his “heart and soul” into his rugby since he joined Glasgow in 2021.

The 27-year-old Australian – who qualifies for Scotland through his Greenock-born grandmother Jacqueline Thomson – was appointed skipper ahead of this month’s Autumn Nations Series.

Tuipulotu will lead Gregor Townsend’s team for the first time when he wins his 27th cap in Saturday’s Test against Fiji, three years on from his debut against Tonga and some three and a half years after arriving at Scotstoun from Japanese side Shizuoka Blue Revs.

“I look back at when I first came over and I did two weeks quarantine because it was in the Covid times and then when I popped out, one of the boys got Covid, so I ended up doing four weeks in a hotel before I did any training,” he smiled.

“I remember those were some pretty dark days. I was thinking about going home, to be honest, because it was getting a bit tough!

“But I’m so glad I made the move to come over. The progress I’ve made probably doesn’t surprise me because I put my heart and soul into my journey here and I’ve worked really hard to get to this point, not only with Scotland, but also with Glasgow.”

Tuipulotu is now viewed as one of the top centres in the world and expected to be named in the British and Irish Lions squad next summer.

“I don’t want to come across like I had it all figured out because for a long couple of years, I didn’t,” he said. “I remember being in Melbourne, not getting an opportunity there and being really frustrated, and then going to Japan, maybe finding my love for the game a little bit more.

“And then coming over here, it’s never that I’ve had it all worked out, but more that always in the back of my mind, I had a vision for myself. I believed in my talent.

“I think in professional sport, you get lucky sometimes and you land in the lap of coaches that have that same vision that you do for yourself, so I put it down to having a vision for myself and coaches believing in me.”

Tuipulotu’s mother, Angelina, will be at Murrayfield for his first game as captain, while his proud Scottish grandmother will watch on television in Australia.

“My grandma’s finally figured out how to use social media and she started replying to some of the fans online,” he laughed. “I think some of the fans were saying ‘thank you to Granny from Greenock’ and she’s replying, ‘no worries’, stuff like that, which is hilarious.

“She doesn’t even have a Facebook profile picture, just blank face and Jacqueline Thomson, but she’s stoked and she’ll be up early in the morning watching our games.”

Tuipolutu – whose Glasgow contract expires in the summer – has been linked with Bath and Harlequins and several French clubs, and he admitted he is keeping an open mind about his future.

“I’m happy where I am and in terms of the future after that, there’s not much I can say,” he said. “All I can say is that I’m happy in Scotland, I’m happy in Glasgow.

“Yeah, of course as a rugby player you have to look at your future, it’s a short career but I believe that my happiness outside of rugby has a heavy influence on how I play on the field. I know my family’s happy at the moment in Glasgow, at least for the next six months, and I’m happy there as well so, yeah, I’m happy to be at Glasgow for now.”