Tuipulotu names Lions tour a top goal after two-try display in Wales' 50-19 win
Sisilia Tuipulotu scored two tries as Wales defeated South Africa 50-19 on Friday in a match watched by Lions head coach Jo Yapp, and said selection for next year’s inaugural British and Irish Lions women’s tour is among her top priorities. Tuipulotu has been capped 34 times by Wales.
Tuipulotu is a tight-head prop who described selection for the Lions tour as a leading objective in her career. Lions head coach Jo Yapp has said she will only select the best players in each position, and the touring party to New Zealand is expected to feature mainly England’s world cup-winning stars when the squad is announced in May. Yapp previously coached Australia women before taking the Lions job.
Tuipulotu’s two-try performance was noted during the game and the display "certainly puts her on the radar for when the squad is announced in May." She said: "I actually didn't know she [Yapp] was there until after the game, but I'm very happy that we gave the performance that we did in front of her." "It's probably number one on my goal list right now, to perform the best I can to put my hand up for a spot on that team."
The 23-year-old first emerged during the 2023 Six Nations, where she earned the "prop idol" nickname, but injuries and a possible lack of confidence during a downturn in Wales' form curtailed the early momentum in her international career. Former Wales centre Jonathan Davies described her most recent showing as "world class" while working as a pundit.
At club level Tuipulotu joined Harlequins from Gloucester-Hartpury in the summer and credited six weeks of pre-season for restoring her condition. She said: "This is probably the best place where I could be physically." "In the last year I've come back from injury, but I haven't played the rugby that I wanted to play, so I'm happy with how Friday went."
Wales now prepare to face USA at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday, 26 September at 15:00 BST, with the match to be shown live on BBC One, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, and offered with live text coverage. USA staged a comeback win against Ireland on Sunday and have moved up to sixth in the world, while Wales have risen two places to 11th.
"We'll go into this game confident," said Tuipulotu. "We're going into this game with a win in hand, but to back it up even more will just give us that fire in our bellies to go out and perform. "If we just carry on playing the way we do and improve every week, then hopefully we get the crowd there too."