MOSESE TUIPULOTU JOINS EDINBURGH RUGBY AND ISSUES CHALLENGE TO BIG BROTHER SIONE TUIPULOTU

Waratahs centre signs two-year deal to come to Scotland

Edinburgh Rugby have announced the signing of Mosese Tuipulotu from the New South Wales Waratahs and the Scottish-qualified centre is already looking forward to going up against his older brother, Sione.

Mosese, who turned 23 on Sunday, has signed a two-year deal after initially resisting overtures from Scottish Rugby to leave Australia. Moves were made last season to entice him to Glasgow Warriors, with Scotland coach Gregor Townsend involved in the negotiations. Mosese opted to remain with the Waratahs at that point but has now decided to follow his brother to Scotland and will join Edinburgh in the summer.

Sione Tuipulotu, also a centre, signed for Glasgow in 2021 and has made a huge impact for club and country, winning 25 Scotland caps. The Australian-born brothers qualify through their grandmother from Greenock and Mosese is clearly a player of national interest to Townsend. The 6-foot, 16-stone Mosese is a powerful ball-carrier who is comfortable at 12 and 13 and will be in direct opposition to his brother when Edinburgh play Glasgow next season. He says it is something he will relish.

“I’ve actually never played against my brother and the derby between Edinburgh and Glasgow looks like a pretty cool fixture to be a part of,” he said. “If I do happen to get the opportunity to play in it, I’m sure it’ll be a special moment with Sione on the other side. I’ll look to expose him!”

Mosese, whose deal is subject to visa and medical clearance, will compete for the centre berths at Edinburgh with James Lang, Chris Dean, Mark Bennett, and Matt Currie. “I’m really excited to make the move over to Edinburgh in the coming months,” he added. “I’m itching to get over there and experience something different to what I’ve grown up with. I’ve been speaking to my brother quite a bit and there’s a few boys in Sydney that have been over to Edinburgh. I’ve watched a few games from the URC and it’s an exciting competition so I’m really keen to get amongst it. I like to carry hard and enjoy the contact area of the game but also like to get my teammates involved as much as I can. I’m excited to showcase my skill set in front of them.”

A product of St Kevin’s College, Melbourne, Tuipulotu played much of his junior rugby in Victoria, coming through the ranks of the Melbourne Rebels academy. In 2021, he moved to New South Wales to represent Eastern Suburbs, before being named in the Waratahs squad for 2022. He made his debut for the Super Rugby Pacific side in 2023 against the Hurricanes, making four appearances for the Sydney-based side, featuring recently in their away win against the Crusaders.

Sean Everitt, the Edinburgh head coach, said: “Edinburgh Rugby has been tracking Mosese’s progress this season and this is a signing that excites us greatly. He is a player that can bring a lot of dynamism and versatility to the side, and we are very pleased the club has been able to make this move happen. He’s a young Scottish qualified player with a lot of potential, who we believe will be a good foil for our current stable of centres, so it will be great to see him develop alongside our more experienced centres and our emerging home-grown talent.”

2024-05-06T09:01:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd