He was born in Australia but qualifies to play for Scotland through his grandmother
Who is Sione Tuipulotu: Ten things you should know about the Glasgow centre
Sione Tuipulotu joined Glasgow Warriors in 2021 and his form impressed to such an extent that he was called up by Scotland that same year.
Ten things you should know about Sione Tuipulotu
1. Sione Tuipulotu was born on 12 February 1997 in Melbourne, Australia. He stands at 5ft 10in (1.79m) and weighs 16st 5lb (104kg).
2. He qualifies to play for Scotland through his grandmother, who is from Glasgow.
3. Tuipulotu played for Melbourne Rising, Yamaha Jubilo and the Rebels before signing for Glasgow Warriors in 2021.
4. At U20 level he played for Australia and even faced Scotland in the 2016 Junior World Championship.
5. He was initially set to win his first Scotland cap in the summer of 2021 but their Tests were called off due to Covid.
6. Tuipulotu played alongside his cousin and Tongan international Viliami Tahitu’a at Yamaha Jubilo.
7. He was given a scholarship to St Kevin’s College in Melbourne and he told RugbyPass: “I loved it down there, but in my teenage years, I was hanging out with the wrong crowd, I was easily influenced and basically just going to school because I had to, or not going at all.
“There was a point where my dad was going to send me to Tonga because he thought that would be the best way to discipline me. But when I got the opportunity at St Kevin’s it honestly saved my life in a way.”
8. Not only can he play as a centre, he is also comfortable on the wing.
Sione Tuipulotu scored his first try for Glasgow in the 2021-22 season (Getty Images)
9. Conversations with his family and Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend inspired his move to Glasgow. He said: “I was thinking about doing that but I thought it would mean a lot more to me to play for a country I had heritage with.
“That’s basically what led to my decision to come over here. I really wanted to play Test footie, or try to play Test footie, for a country where I have heritage.”
10. He is the middle child of five siblings.
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