The British and Irish Lions are coming down under and joining them is one of Australia’s own, Sione Tuipulotu. But instead of wearing the green and gold of the Wallabies, the Frankston-born will be donning the famous red jersey, ready to take on the very team he once dreamed of joining.
It's a dream most Aussie children grow up chasing, representing their nation, and Tuipulotu was no different. Only now, his dream has changed, he wants to defeat the Wallabies.
The rivalry between the Wallabies and the British and Irish Lions is steeped in history. They’vefaced each other 23 times, with the lions winning 17 of those matches. Their last clash in 2013 ended in a dominant Lions performance in Sydney, one Tuipulotu hopes to help repeat.
This won't be his first time facing Australia. Tuipulotu has previously lined up against the Wallabies while playing for Scotland, and for him, those games carried extra weight.
"I've had a couple of experiences playing against them with Scotland. They are some of the most fun games I've played because they've been against my mates and a lot of the boys I grew up with, like Rob Leota and Robert Valetini, boys I've known since I was 10, 12 years old,” he told Sky Sports.
"I love playing against my mates because it brings out that competitiveness ... you don't want to beat anyone more than your mate.”
Now, 28 years old and coming off a long recovery from a pectoral injury, Tuipulotu is ready to play in front of a home crowd, even if it's one he expects will be cheering for the other team.
Tuipulotu’s journey to this moment didn't follow the path he imagined, but it was a path that shaped him.
He grew up in Frankston, Melbourne, with two sisters and two brothers. His father, Fohe, a former player at Melbourne’s Powerhouse Rugby Club, was a passionate supporter of his boys’ careers and he “promised to get his sons to the top”.
Initially, Sione grew up playing soccer while attending St Francis Xavier Primary School. It wasn't until his first year at Elisabeth Murdoch College that he gave rugby a go, joining the Southern Districts Rugby Club.
By Year 9, he’d earned a scholarship to St Kevin’s College in Toorak. Rugby went from a new hobby to something serious. He went on to represent the Australian Schoolboys and the Junior Wallabies (Under-20s) between 2015 and 2017.
Tuipulotu then made history, becoming the first Victorian to debut for the Melbourne Rebels. But the dream-start soon became a mental challenge. After the Western Force folded, players from all over the country joined the Rebels, and Tuipulotu’s minutes on the field began to dwindle.
His father remembers how tough that period was.
“He was sitting on the bench, and the team was already beaten by 40 points, 50 points, and they only gave him five minutes, Fohe told ABC Sport.
"I can understand for a young kid, who has been good, good, good, good, and then he's hitting that kind of wall. It's going to be hard, mentally."
Then came a game-changing opportunity. In 2018, Tuipulotu accepted an off-season offer to play in Japan for Yamaha Jubilo (now Shizuoka Blue Revs). What started as a two-month stint turned into two full years.
In Japan, he found form, confidence, and consistency. He played every game, and every minute, rekindling the spark that had dimmed in Melbourne.
That turnaround didn’t go unnoticed.
In 2021, Tuipulotu signed with the Glasgow Warriors and earned his call-up to the Scottish national team. By 2024, he’d been named captain for a series.
Tuipulotu is eligible to represent Scotland and the British and Irish Lions through his maternal grandmother, who emigrated from Greenock, a town just outside Glasgow, to Frankston. His grandfather is Italian, and his father is Tongan, meaning Tuipulotu has always had multiple cultural roots and international pathways.
Now, Tuipulotu will take on the field, as the British and Irish Lions tour Australia this July and August. In front of family, including his wife, Lara and their son, Fohe Junior, along with friends, and old teammates, he’s ready to prove that while the dream may have changed, the drive has never wavered.
