Australia need tightheads on top, warns Wallabies great
Melissa Woods |
Wallabies centurion Sekope Kepu is backing Taniela Tupou to rediscover his best form, saying Australia need him firing to match the British and Irish Lions up front.
Kepu played 110 Tests for Australia, including being part of the 2013 Lions series, and will be involved in the upcoming tour, named as an assistant coach for the First Nations and Pasifika Invitational XV, who will face the Lions in Melbourne.
The 39-year-old former tighthead prop said the Wallabies must have their best tightheads, Tupou and Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa, anchoring the scrum to match the might of the northern hemisphere, with the first Test in Brisbane on July 19.
“There’s good young guys coming through Australian rugby, a couple of the Reds boys, but I think with Allan and Taniela, those are the two cornerstones of Australian rugby at the moment in terms of anchoring that scrum,” Kepu said from Japan, where he is part of the coaching staff at the Shimizu Blue Sharks.
“That’s purely around, they’re at that ripe age now, and seeing the way that Allan’s been playing, I think they’ll play a crucial part.
“The Lions will bring that mentality and that attitude of it’s all won up front and no doubt, so it’s going to be massive.”
Kepu played in all three Tests of the 2013 series, won 2-1 by the visitors, and said the Wallabies scrum almost turned the result of the first Test, the Lions winning 23-21.
Unfortunately for the Australians, Kurtley Beale slipped as he attempted a penalty goal in the final minute of the match.
“I remember back to the Brisbane game in 2013, the first game, we got a penalty in that scrum, we managed to push them in that scrum and we got a penalty,” said Kepu, who played in three World Cups.
“Unfortunately Kurtley (Beale) slipped over and missed it, but that’s what it comes down to – it can be won and lost simply with the scrum, so I think the forwards are going to be massive.”
Tupou’s form has been below par in his first Super Rugby Pacific season with the Waratahs, unable to string together consistently good games.
Kepu said he spoke regularly with his fellow Tongan brethren and believed his achilles injury, suffered in late 2022, could still be having an impact – at least mentally.
Kepu suffered the same injury and said that upon his return it played on his mind each time he packed a scrum.
“I know that it’s a continuous battle, because it’s in your mind all the time,” he said.
“Every time you pack a scrum, you’re worrying about that a little bit, and I think part of it (Tupou) is that.”
If Tupou was overlooked for the Wallabies, Kepu said the 29-year-old would be at the top of his wish-list for the invitational side.
AAP
