Taniela Tupou had a night to remember on the Gold Coast.
But there's one highlight he won't want to look at, and if he does it'll be with his hands covering his eyes.
With seconds to go in the first-half, the massive tight-head prop who Brad Thorn said earlier in the week had a "presence" like few others he'd seen on a footy field, crashed through the Force's defensive line 30 metres out from the tryline.
All he had to do was pin the ears back.
Not even a brick wall would have stopped him.
🏃The only person who can stop Nella is Nella. #FORvRED #SuperRugbyAU
— RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) August 21, 2020
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Except, just metres from the tryline, almost unfathomably Tupou stepped back on the inside ready to brace for the covering tackle. He should have just ran straight.
"Mate, I got too excited," he later said, in an interview with Queensland great Tim Horan on Fox Sports.
"I saw the tryline and tried to do a bit of footwork but it didn't work for me. Next time I'll just run it straight."The embarrassing blunder left the Fox Sports commentary team in stitches.
'What's happened, has a sprinkler head popped up as he's running?" Horan said in commentary.
Rod Kafer adding: "He's been done by a sniper. They've got him!"
Before Horan continued: "I think he was worried about what try celebration can he do."
Even still, Tupou was one of the Reds' best during their massive 57-5 bonus-point win over the Force that saw them climb to the top of the Super Rugby AU standings.
