The Wallabies are banding together as Taniela Tupou continues his recovery from a brazen robbery during their preparations for Saturday’s Test match against South Africa in Johannesburg.
Tupou’s mobile phone was snatched by a hooded thief as he walked with his fellow front-rowers back from dinner 50 metres from their hotel.
The prop was left shaken and with some minor cuts on his arm after chasing the robber, who jumped into a waiting vehicle.
Teammate Jordan Uelese, who is gunning to play his first Test minutes in two years against the Springboks at Ellis Park early on Sunday morning (AEST), says while shocked by the incident it had brought the team closer.
“I thought ‘Whoa, anything can happen here’ but it has definitely brought us closer as a group so we look out for each other’s back,” Uelese said.
“If they can steal a phone off one of the biggest guys in our team you can steal off anyone.”
Uelese was thankful Tupou’s injuries weren’t more serious given the high crime rate in the country.
“It’s easy to replace a phone, you can never replace a life so it was a matter of safety and we’re always there for each other so if he chased that car, you never know what could’ve happened,” the 22-year-old Melbourne Rebels hooker said.
Despite being shocked by the robbery, Uelese, who only managed three Super Rugby games this season as he recovered from a knee reconstruction, said he still felt comfortable staying and playing in South Africa.
“We’ve been here a lot of times, they’re great hosts, they’re such nice people and it happens everywhere,” he said.
“Maybe we were too casual walking around and having a laugh – crime happens everywhere not just here.
“I’m not going to let a little minority of crime makers tarnish our thoughts on people here in South Africa.”
Australia has a dismal win rate of just 24 per cent when playing in South Africa and they haven’t tasted victory at the famed Ellis Park since 1963.
They have a golden chance with the Springboks fielding a weakened team, with many of their stronger players skipping the match to head to New Zealand early to prepare for the All Blacks the following weekend.
The home side has also lost winger Aphiwe Dyantyi, who won the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year Award in 2018, to a hamstring injury.
The Springboks won’t call in a replacement as they have sufficient cover in the camp in Johannesburg.
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Which one, has happened at least 4 times, not to mention the base ball bat, the machete, the full beer bottles at point blank range, the shooting and the cars running me down a couple of times.. and the cops tasering me by mistake after i took the baseball bat off the bad guy that whacked me in the back of the head with it... complete control on all occasions, hence I am still here ..
piru
Roar Rookie
OK I may have read into that a bit - replace "threatened with a knife" with "being robbed on the street" if you like. Yes the organisation should have discussed safety with them, but 22 year olds are all ten foot tall and bulletproof, let alone 22 year old rugby players, let alone 22 year old front row international rugby players! It's a frightening situation and I can understand him being upset about it.
Flyman
Roar Rookie
He wasn't threatened, the phone was snatched. The dumb thing was running after the thief - yeah I know its an instinctive reaction but you would think that the team management would educate the newbies about this stuff. The reason I say so is that we were on a 6 month feasibility study in RSA a while back, and we made sure that everyone understood the rules.
Gee
Roar Rookie
" Australia has a dismal win rate of just 24 per cent when playing in South Africa and they haven’t tasted victory at the famed Ellis Park since 1963 " That's the focusing on rugby part of the article, focusing on crime is less depressing.
Gee
Roar Rookie
He must of saw the Wallaby jumper and figured this guy can't catch me if I run off.
charly_777
Guest
Also, if you face one you never know if the criminal is armed! Some kill before stealing thinking that they do "a favor" so they do not have to live the life of the drugged thief!
SandBox
Roar Guru
Yeah, and if they’re on drugs they probably won’t feel pain. Even less of a reason to take them on. I’m not criticising Tupou, as I’ve never been in that situation. Would like to think I wouldn’t chase them though, but who knows when the Adrenalin kicks in
charly_777
Guest
90% of opportunistic thieves are drug addicts everywhere! unfortunate world we all have! misuse of freedoms are called!
SandBox
Roar Guru
Unless you’re John Wick, just give any robber your money. Is it really worth risking your life over? Bleeding out on the ground and leaving your family without a son and/or father? Only in the movies are people impervious to knives or bullets
jeznez
Roar Guru
Group of players were walking about 50m from the hotel. Thief came up behind him and grabbed his phone (I'm unclear if it was in his hand, his pocket or somewhere else). Tupou initially thought it was a team mate playing a prank then saw it was someone he didn't know. He chased them but the thief jumped into a waiting car. Tupou reach in through the window to try and grab the phone back and suffered some minor cuts. In his own words: “On our way back someone just came from behind and took my phone. I thought it was one of the boys so I looked back and he was wearing a hoodie and ran with my phone,” he said. “I tried to chase after him and he got in the car and I got some cuts but I’m fine. I lost my phone but I can live with that. “I got injured with a cut but I am fine.” “I’m ready to go, ready to train,” Tupou said. “It’s crazy... I learnt a lesson. Lucky it was not my wallet.”
Marlin
Roar Rookie
A bit scant on detail, isn't it? How did the aledged thief remove the phone from him? How did he cut himself? What happened to make the experience 'traumatic'? Anyway, good luck on the weekend, boys...
jeznez
Roar Guru
Harry. I had the same thing happen to me in the back streets of Paddington, Sydney years ago. Although a bit more confronting. Five blokes cornered me, while walking alone and demanded my phone and wallet. When I told them to F off one of them broke my nose and the smallest of them started jumping up and down and screaming at one of the bigger blokes to knife me. Twenty years on I still recall his scream of “stick him, stick him” Suffice to say I handed over the wallet and phone quite quickly at that point. These things can happen anywhere.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Wouldn’t have dropped it if it was a hamburger
piru
Roar Rookie
Surprised no one has suggested it was a drunk Crusader out on the town tbh
Smiggle Jiggle
Roar Guru
1st issue. Why would you walk outside in Joburg at night? Surely they have security that would advise them that this is not a safe city to walk at night?
charly_777
Guest
Even the small famelian thieves of saffas are not afraid of that first line wallabies! ahahh
Harry Selassie
Roar Rookie
Remind me not to visit Johannesburg anytime soon. Talk about brazen thieves, you think he'd pick a solo thin man or a woman to nab a mobile off of, not a big prop like Taniela Tupou walking with a group of similarly sized men, all professional athletes. I'm telling you that is a brazen thief.
Springs Old Boy
Roar Rookie
Its a big deal if your'e not used to it - and frightening too! - life is cheap over there, he could have easily been seriously stabbed - South Africans live with crime every day so they develop a 6th sense for this thing and can usually spot it coming... Then again I lost my wallet to a pickpocket in Milan a few years ago.. a shoulder bump, an apology and it was gone ...
piru
Roar Rookie
We can't all be heroes unfortunately, for some of us being threatened with a knife is a big deal.
piru
Roar Rookie
Box kick though Piru. But of course :)