Childhood dream fulfilled for Scotland skipper Sione Tuipulotu as brother finally makes Glasgow Warriors debut

Franco Smith’s side kicked off their latest Champions Cup campaign with 47-27 win away to Sale Sharks.

The Scotland skipper finally got to play alongside his younger brother Ottavio with the hooker making his long awaited debut in the match. Gregor Hiddleston was a late withdrawal from the team which saw the 22-year-old called up to the replacements.

The Melbourne native arrived at Scotstoun last year but has had to wait till now for his first taste of action after a long journey back from injury. He marked his first appearance with a solid performance and scored the try which secured the bonus point for the visitors at the CorpAcq Stadium.

“It genuinely can’t get better” - Sione Tuipulotu blessed as Glasgow Warriors becomes a family affair

“It was a bit of an emotional week,” the older Tuipulotu explained. “I think when I found out late in the week, I was probably more excited for him to play than for myself to play.

“I've got to be honest, it genuinely can't get better. You dream of that when you're a kid. To play European rugby with your brother, I thank God for it.

“It's a massive blessing for me and my family. I'm just stoked for him that he got his debut today.”

On the result and performance away to Sale, the Scotland skipper added: “For us to come out and put out a massive team performance, we knew that was what it was going to take against Sale. They've got a lot of British and Irish Lions, a lot of experience, and they're at home. We knew we had to put in a massive team performance and I’m just massively proud of the group.

“We trained really hard. Franco puts us through our paces. We always feel like when a team like Sale put up a massive front against us in the first half, they've expended a lot of energy.

“We know we've got the legs to play that exact same style in the second half. That was the message for Franco in the change rooms. We put them through a lot of work. They stood there in front of us for a long period and they were going to have to do it for another 40. We put them to the test.”

There was also a word from the younger Tuipulotu brother, known as Tavi, who spoke about his debut after Hiddleston’s withdrawal. He said: “It's not the way I wanted to get it but I'm so grateful for the opportunity. I've been on the sidelines for nearly 18 months and to get the win like that with a good group of boys, and my brother on the field, it can't get better than that.”

There is of course a third Tuipulotu brother on the scene in Scottish rugby with middle child Mosese currently turning out at centre across the central belt with Edinburgh. All three are eligible for Scotland, with Mosese capped at A level, and Tavi spoke about the possibility of them all one day playing Test match rugby together.

“Oh, I mean, that's a dream, isn't it?” he added. “ If the three of us could play together, that would be the dream.”

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