NSW Waratahs recruit Taniela Tupou is confident a reunion with former Wallabies forwards coach Dan McKellar will get him back to his barnstorming best.
Tupou sat down with a host of reporters to chat about his growing love of Sydney, a terrifying bungee experience and getting back to full fitness after a raft of injuries.
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The tighthead has headed to a Waratahs full of expectations, with the former Rebel joined by Andrew Kellaway, Rob Leota and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii as the marquee signings.
Off-contract at the end of the year, the 28-year-old is looking for the same spark under McKellar as in 2021, when Tupou was demolishing international packs with his athleticism and scrummaging.
"Tough but fair," Tupou described McKellar.
"I knew he’d help me become a better player. I need to challenge myself and working under Dan McKellar will do that."
Tupou is working his way back into full fitness after injury restricted him to two appearances on the Spring Tour.
“A big thing for me is just to work around the park, trying to move well," he said. "If I can lose a few kilos, it’ll make it easier for me to get on the field.
"If I can do that, it’ll help my game and help the team.”
Tupou's minutes have fallen significantly as the prop's body felt the effects of Tupou moving at a speed and acceleration that defies what a front-rower should be able to do
He played twice beyond 50 minutes in 2024 and averaged 42 minutes for the Wallabies at Test level.
Comparatively, Tupou did not record a start under 50 minutes in 2021, averaging 67 minutes in that year's Rugby Championship.
“I remember those days, playing 80 minutes,” Tupou said, having since dealt with a ruptured Achilles, hamstring and rib issues.
“Obviously there’s always an expectation for me to perform. It’s not that I don’t want to perform, it’s not that I don’t want to play for long minutes, it’s that all the injuries, not being able to train, not being able to do a pre-season, has made it hard.
“However long the coach wants me to play whether it’s 30 or 40, or off the bench (I’ll play). That’s why I say this year the main focus was to come in here, get my body right, reset, work hard under Dan McKellar, and start building the metrics again and hopefully (by) mid-season I’ll get back to what it used to be.”
Tupou's feet are cemented in Daceyville as he works back to his best.
It's a place the prop finds a lot more comfortable than in the off-season when his hulking frame bungee jumped off a bridge in Queenstown.
“I weighed myself in because I wanted to train hard before I go to Queenstown because I wanted to enjoy it,” Tupou said, holding court like he was on stage at a comedy show.
“I was 143kgs. We had lunch, we had a few beers and went to the place and I said, ‘What’s the weight limit?’ They said, ‘155.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I’m sweet. I’m at least ten kilos lighter.’
"They were like, ‘You have to weigh in anyway.’ So I jump on and it’s 150. I said, ‘Oh f—k’ (laughs) I was still under, but in my head, I’m like, 'have I put on that much weight in three days?'”
"...I was that close to walking (away). I said to him, ‘Can you push me? Because I can’t jump. I can’t do it.’ He said, ‘We’re not allowed to push you. You’ve got to do it.’
“Everybody else had the one rope around their legs and then jumped off, I had the full harness on me...I was more worried about it breaking, but I’m glad I got it done.”
