Freshly arrived from Japan and nearly instantly pitched right into a Scotland camp, the centre remembers the time Tandy took to get to know him as an individual, instantly placing the new arrival comfortable. Tuipulotu will nonetheless need nothing greater than to prolong Tandy’s distress by main Scotland to a win tomorrow night however he will without end have fond reminiscences of what Tandy did for him in these early days.
“He was the first coach I probably had a personal relationship with when I moved a long way away from home,” he stated. “I know you guys probably don’t believe me but if I’m around people I don’t know I’m very shy. I’m not shy now but when I first came over here I was really shy and he was one of the first coaches to put his arm around me and I suppose learn me as a person before maybe a rugby player. And that had a massive effect on my rugby because I felt like I trusted and confided in him a lot, and a lot about stuff outside of rugby as well.
“In the early stages of my development in Scotland he played a massive part in just bringing me out of my shell. He was the first one to encourage me. Maybe he saw the leader in me that maybe I didn’t even see at that time and he encouraged that side as well. So I owe a lot to him and the job he did in my career. I probably wouldn’t be sitting at this table if not for him because I wouldn’t have come as far in my Scotland journey as I have if I didn’t have those types of coaches around me. So I owe a lot to him.”
Both males have come a good distance since these days. Tuipulotu is now the Scotland captain and the man charged with lastly main the crew out of their stagnation of latest years to a place the place they will lastly correctly problem for the Six Nations damage. After a gap day defeat to Italy, nevertheless, Tuipulotu acknowledged there’s subsequent to no room for error. Another loss to Wales and Scotland are again to sq. one.
“I just know you can’t lose two games in this tournament and think you’re going to be there at the back end for anything,” he admitted. “For us it’s one game at a time and Wales is the one in front of us at the moment but I think in the bigger picture we just want to keep growing. We showed good growth last game and last week the bit that I’m most proud of was our ability to stay at that level for the 80 minutes.
“We would be [in good shape with another win] but before the last game I felt like there was no ‘next game’. That was the reality of the situation we were in and that was the pressure I put on myself. That pressure is still there: I feel like there is no game after this. We need to play who’s in front of us at the moment and that’s Wales. We know there’s a fallow week coming after that and we’ll be able to regroup and possibly get some boys back off the injury list. But I don’t want to start looking beyond the fallow week and start thinking about the last two games. We just need to get this one and we’re desperate to get this victory.”
Welsh desperation
If something, it’s Wales who might be extra determined following a run of 23 defeats in 25 matches that noticed many followers voting with their toes in final weekend’s defeat to France. “We know a couple of guys in their camp with Steve and Danny [Wilson] and then also the players I played with during the summer, the Welsh boys there. Coming from outside, I’ve always felt Welsh people and Scottish people are quite similar: they carry the same underdog story and they play like that.
“My instruction to the boys is that if you feel like we were desperate last week they’re going to be on a whole other level of desperation tomorrow. I’m expecting them to be really fired up to play in front of their fans and our preparation has shown we really respect this side because we know how desperate they are, we know how well coached they are and as people they’re going to front up for their country.”
