The Tongan Thor in perspective

On May 10, Taniela Tupou became an overnight sensation. In a nationally televised First XV fixture in New Zealand, the 135kg Tongan prop scored three spectacular tries for Sacred Heart College in Auckland against Kelston Boys’ High School.

Two of Tupou’s tries were scored from halfway and all three were scored in an explosive opening 20 minutes. What else? Tupou is 18 years old!

The footage of Tupou’s tries went viral. A video on the Sky Sport website in New Zealand attracted more than two million hits and Tupou’s feat was reported in the UK.

The following week Tupou scored a less dramatic hat-trick against Mount Albert Grammar School. In the pre-season he scored an 80-metre intercept try against the eventual National Champions, Scots College.

Had the new Jonah Lomu arrived? Well not quite.

Despite Tupou being chased by league, Toulon and last week signing with the Reds, some perspective is needed when evaluating the talents of “Turbo Tupou”.

How good is Tupou? He is unique. He is raw, but he is no Sonny Bill Williams, he is no Jonah Lomu, and he is no Carl Hayman.

I am employed by the show that Tupou featured on. I work as a reporter and researcher on a program entitled Land Rover First XV Rugby. I have seen Tupou on TV and live in the flesh several times.

Tupou is undoubtedly quick for such a big man. He accelerates onto the ball well and can sustain his speed over a long distance. Tupou has been quoted as saying he would like to play centre, he looks for the ball and thrives with it. In contact he offloads with precision and accuracy out of both hands.

Tupou wasn’t bettered by anybody in the scrum. His sheer size in a schoolboy competition ensured that he is close to immovable.

How technically sound is Tupou? This is hard to gauge, but the general consensus is that his scrumming technique is pretty good.

Defence and performing his key roles as a front rower are major areas for improvement. Tupou is a lazy defender. He has a habit of dropping the left shoulder and leaning inwards without intent towards an attacker. Tupou is nowhere near hungry enough on defence and it’s hard to recall a single tackle where he actually hurt somebody.

Tupou rarely hits rucks. Now a part of this might be instructions from his coaches who gave Tupou the license to roam wide, but Tupou rarely engages with other bodies at the breakdown meaning he shirks one of his key responsibilities as a prop.

There has been discussion in New Zealand about the possibility of Tupou being transformed into a hooker or even a number 8 where his pace and power of the back of the scrum could torment the opposition.

Tupou came to prominence with his performance against Kelston Boys’ High School. Kelston is historically a powerhouse of New Zealand First XV rugby. Sir Graham Henry was the headmaster at the college. Since the inception of the National First XV competition in 1982, Kelston has won the title five times which is more than any other school.

Kelston has produced talent such as Mils Muliaina, Kees Meeuws and more recently Lolagi Visinia. Kelston have made the top four of the ferociously competitive Auckland competition 18 times in the last 23 years.

In 2014 Kelston was ninth out of 12 teams in Auckland. They lost to the top four sides (who contest semi-finals) by an average score of 36-7. It was the worst Kelston team in four decades.

The following week Tupou scored a hat-trick against Mount Albert Grammar School – the old school of Sonny Bill Williams.

Sacred Heart is the old school of Sean Fitzpatrick. They won 16 out of 20 games this year. They were capable of playing very explosive rugby with Tupou, a big eight and centre and loose head Sosefo Kaufai (who is actually bigger than Tupou) to the fore.

However Sacred Heart was a limited side. They finished fourth in Auckland and didn’t beat the three sides above them. Their attack became predictable as Tupou become over-used and smarter teams devised methods to reduce his effectiveness.

Compare the feats of Tupou with Jonah Lomu. Lomu spent four years in the Wesley College First XV. In his first year of rugby in 1990, Lomu was a 14-year-old lock who was named man-of-the-match in the National Final won by Wesley over Gisborne Boys’ High School.

In 1993 Lomu was captain and number 8 of another national title winning First XV. Lomu scored 71 tries for his First XV and spent two unbeaten seasons in the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ side.

Carl Hayman went to King’s High School in Dunedin (the old school of Ben Smith). In 1996 King’s was the fourth best team in New Zealand, a result they have been nowhere near achieving since.

Hayman was in the New Zealand Schools’ side for two years and within three seasons was an All Black. He would become one of the best in the world.

Taniela Tupou is an exciting prospect. Is he a superstar? The jury is out on that claim.