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With the Waratahs’ recruitment and retention being questioned and their Super Rugby season in disarray, one of their departing players has claimed he felt unloved at the club.
In June 2023, Mosese Tuipulotu re-signed for the Waratahs, knocking back interest from Scotland and declared “I love this club and they’ve done a lot for me, so I’m happy to stay and obviously pursue that dream.” He also made it clear he wanted to chase a Wallaby jersey, but a frustrating time in Sydney, under outgoing coach Darren Coleman, has seemingly ended that goal.
Tuipulotu is heading to Edinburgh and could follow Glasgow-based big brother Sione into the Scotland team later this year.
“I was pretty close last year to coming over, I wanted to be closer to my brother and we always had that dream of playing together,” Tuipulotu told RugbyPass.
“It was a bit too early for me because I hadn’t experienced Super Rugby at the time. I grew up watching that competition and always wanted to play it. Now I’ve ticked that off, I’m content I played at that level, it’s a good time now to experience something different and I decided to pull triggers on Edinburgh.
“It’s a new environment and new style in the northern hemisphere and I feel it will be great for my development especially with the longer seasons and potential to play a lot more footy.”
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The Melbourne-born centre made it clear that he felt under appreciated at the Tahs where his career stalled due to injury and competition from among others Lalakai Foketi and Izzy Perese.
He said Sione had encouraged him to move on.
“He was at the Rebels from a pretty young age and I was at the Tahs from a young age. He didn’t get the love he felt he deserved at the Rebels and I have the same feeling here now,” Tuipulotu said.
Mosese Tuipulotu. Photo: Waratahs Media – Julius Dimataga
“He has been through the same thing. Through the past 12-24 months I’ve kept him close in making my decision. I’ve seen him go to Japan and Scotland and do really well. He told me sometimes a new environment and new experiences can be the best thing for your career and I’m hoping that pays out.
“He was always very keen for me to get up there with him but he left it up to me and where my heart stood. He never pushed me to move. It was all based on my decision. But he was definitely a contributing factor.”
The brothers and their younger sibling Tavi – who is in the Junior Wallabies – qualify to play for Scotland through their grandmother.
Mosese could find himself called up for the Scots before making his club debut for Edinburgh, with Gregor Townsend taking a rotated squad to the Americas in July.
“It’s definitely something I want to be a part of and I’m pushing for, but I’m trying not to look that far,” Tuipulotu said. “I haven’t chatted with Gregor recently. The last time was last year when we were going through the negotiations with Glasgow [who courted Mosese before he chose NSW]. I’m just trying to have a really good pre-season and get off to a good start.
“It would be a dream. We always used to say we wanted to pull on the same jersey. It would be emotional not only for us but for our grandma, seeing her three boys she took care of all playing together for her country.
“Tavi is doing his own thing in Australia as of now and we’re all really proud of him, especially with the adversity he has had to face. He’s running his own race and whatever he does, I’ll be supportive of that. If down the track we get the opportunity to all play together, I’m sure the whole family would be stoked.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.