Melbourne Rebels general manager Nick Stiles says the club is having to put a broken Wallabies star Taniela Tupou back together again after he was “flogged to death” at the Queensland Reds.
Tupou has been the subject of fans’ angst over his fitness – and his 2023 was ruined by multiple injury problems.
As speculation increases about Tupou’s future, with overseas clubs interested and the Rebels’ future appearing bleak beyond this season, Stiles outlined the recovery job being done with Tupou in Melbourne, when he appeared on The Roar Rugby Podcast.
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Stiles also addressed the case of Wallabies World Cup prop Pone Fa’amausili, who has not managed to get any minutes for the Rebels this season at a time when other clubs – notably the Waratahs and Western Force face front row crises.
But it is his comments on Tupou, when asked what he needs to do to go to the next level on the international stage, that will raise eyebrows.
“When you get to international level, he’s had some really good moments, but you want to see that tighthead performance that he’s consistently pulling out that he just totally dominates and we can be led around the park by him,” said Stiles.
“It’s probably about those repeat work efforts for him. You can do the big run, you can have the powerful scrum, but in international rugby, it’s around the ability to back up those really good moments regularly.
“And so there’s that repeatability for him. Which I think, to become as good a player as he can be, or should be, would be to nail those aspects. A lot of that’s physically for him. A lot of that’s getting back to being full strength with his body.
“When we recruited him, we put a presentation together and I showed him the amount of minutes he played at the Reds for the previous three years. I think he was the second most minutes in the whole competition of any position.
“So he’d been really flogged to death up there and won a lot of games for them.
“I don’t blame them at all. But he knew his body was about to break and it did unfortunately. So hopefully now we can get him back to being durable and being able to have those repeat efforts.”
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Stiles, a former Queensland Reds coach, played down discussion about Tupou moving overseas in the near future.
“He’s locked in for two years. All this paper talk coming out saying that Leinster’s interested. That’s great,”said Stiles.
“They can be interested with him after 2025 because he’s contracted through to then, whether we’re here or not, he’s still got a bonding agreement with Rugby Australia.
“But I personally believe with what Taniela’s had over the last couple of years, with the injury profile that he’s had, he’s best being managed very closely at the moment just to get his career back to full strength. I reckon you’ve seen his performance is increasing and getting better each game of Super Rugby.
Taniela Tupou of the Wallabies looks on ahead of their Rugby World Cup France 2023 match against Fiji at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on September 16, 2023 in Saint-Etienne, France. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
“[He’s] definitely not at his best yet. But when you’re that big and that powerful, you put so much stress on your body.
“I think he’s just been getting so much confidence back into his body to go and do what he can do best. And you’re starting to see him be dominant at scrummaging time and starting to get his hands on the ball. And I firmly believe that’s coming from that belief he’s getting back in himself.
“We’ve got to keep pushing him to get him to be the best tighthead in the world and that will be achieved by being here in Australia for at least the next 12 months.”
The Rebels have also benefitted from the form of Sam Talakai, whom Stiles said was “playing his best rugby he’s ever played”.
That’s meant a roadblock for Fa’amausili, with the suggestion he hasn’t been giving himself the best chance of selection.
“I think he’s probably been able to get a position in the team [in previous seasons] without having been at his peak and that’s not the case now,” said Stiles.
“He’s fit and he’s training well and he’s ready to go, but he just can’t crack a position in the 23 at the moment. Not the worst thing.
Pone Fa’amausili has yet to play a minute of Super Rugby in 2024. (Photo by Peter Meecham/Getty Images)
“You get injuries and that’s why increasing the depth of the front row and the squad was important – as you go through the season we know we’ve got Pone who’s desperate to get out there. If we do pick up an injury, you’ve got a Wallaby who’s been at the World Cup ready to come in and ready to go. So hopefully, for everyone, we get to see him out there sooner rather than later and see him then put pressure on the other two.
“It’s not just what you do on the field. I love Pone, but he’s still, had his times where he’s fluctuated what he does away from the field, which then puts him in a position that he might get injured.”
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
But those Tahs play for their jerseys unlike the Rebels. You forget that Derek!
cs
Roar Guru
Boorish and boring.
Biscuit man
Roar Rookie
Yeah has to be that way for some of your thick heads and self entitled views.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
You've got to consider that many of these people criticised the Reds signing him, many wanted to bag him early in his career. He's been making them wipe egg off their faces for a while so they can't wait to bag him for anything. He can hold up an international scrum at TH (not saying he's not world class, but not saying he is either - just saying he can do the job which can't be disputed) and is a world class forward runner. He can do the toughest job on the park and off amazing ball in hand ability. The guy is a generational talent. Perhaps his work rate could be higher. But that's not what he's picked for. Coaches in all sports work on maximising the talent of their players. And players that can do the unteachable things like Tupou aren't wasted doing grunt work. But also some of his runs would be as draining for a prop as a few clean outs.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Its certainly one measure. But this is one there is objective data reported for it. Feel free to point to anything else.
jameswm
Roar Guru
It’s a vibe.
jameswm
Roar Guru
What personal attack? Do you get that no one can say with certainty what single factor caused a calf or Achilles injury. But we know higher loads increases your risk. The guy is a THP. He can’t operate well at 110kg.
mused6
Roar Rookie
No. I’m just making sure stiles isn’t absolved from the crap over the last 10 years that reds supporters have had to deal with in general. Regards to TT, I think we haven’t seen a prop like him in Australia before. He was so good at the reds, that taking him off the field would have lost us games. I think there was also an effort to find out what his ceiling was, in terms of endurance. That it resulted in his injury is poor management, for sure. I just hope it doesn’t have lasting effects. Have fun with bobby and his TT criticisms. I was answering to that crap for years when tupou was with the reds. I’m just a highlights reel fan apparently. :laughing:
cs
Roar Guru
Mate, I reckon you're off your rocker. Fine, we are many. It's the overconfident repetition that suggests some kinda auto function.
James Valentine
Roar Rookie
He can cite minutes played, but he extrapolated that to be the sole or primary cause of Thor’s recent propensity to be injured. Where is the evidence for that? I think his overall physical condition is likely to be a relevant factor in a propensity to get injured. TWAS ignores that and other potential factors. And he cherry picked minutes from some other THs but ignored others who have played equivalent or more minutes. And he often turns it into a personal attack when people disagree with him and makes derogatory remarks about them.
Guess
Roar Rookie
Are you serious? Vailanu has done it many times. How many tries and turnovers tupou made in previous games? Look everyone, overweight overpaid bum scored one try gotta remember that day. No one else can do it. And no one else can win scrum pentlalties. Especially not for that money. How's it injury fault he's still fat? He's pro athlete
Guess
Roar Rookie
Say what? He started it and you're telling me to stop? And who are you to tell me that? Adults mind their own business
Adam84
Roar Rookie
So you admit Cole was banging out 80mins when he was the same age as Tupou... and the dude is still smashing out massive minutes now as a 36 year old... enough said...
Adam84
Roar Rookie
Dont he like confirmation bias...
Adam84
Roar Rookie
Cole has plenty of times..... so i guess this comment isn't a fact either then eh
Adam84
Roar Rookie
you seem to struggle with facts... I was replying to the claim that TT played 80 in more then half the games he played at the Reds... that is not true nor a fact, not even close
Adam84
Roar Rookie
Because carrying the ball is the measure of a props effort is it...
Locke
Roar Rookie
TT may have played long minutes 4 years ago but it's largely irrelevant when you have a glaring elephant in the room; TT's current weight and fitness, and to have Stiles cast out red herrings as a distraction to the real issue doesn't help anybody, especially TT. TT was injured in 2022, 2 years after his heavy workload in 2020, it's a very long stretch to claim that his injury was a direct consequence of that. The truth is that TT isn't particularly injury prone relative to other players. Two significant injuries by the age of 27 isn't unusual, it's even normal, so where does the narrative come from that he's been broken? I see a guy struggling on the field but the obvious reason is because he's overweight.
Gepetto
Roar Rookie
Mused6, Stiles was a dud but Nick has learned much in the last 8 years. I remember he once said he didn't want Tupou running the ball in the way that made him famous. Apparently, Nick wanted him standing around waiting for the next scrum. That was an odd thing to say considering Stiles had a sidestep and a good pass himself. Even now players don't give Tupou the ball when he wants it. Stupidity or professional jealousy?
Rocky's Rules
Roar Rookie
Hahaha - what a total crock of poo from Styles. Tupou played about 10 games per year at the Reds - mostly from the bench. And he's not locked in with Rebels for 2 years. It's 1 year cos Rebels won't have a team next year :laughing: