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British & Irish Lions

  1. Tuipulotu embracing pressure of proving Lions allegiance

    Sione TuipulotuSNS

    Melbourne-born Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu is relishing the pressure of proving his international allegiance for the British and Irish Lions.

    Amid ongoing debate about the selection of foreign-born players, the Glasgow centre is set to line up against his native Australia during this summer's Lions tour.

    Tuipulotu, who made his Scotland debut in 2021, is among seven of Andy Farrell's 38-man Lions squad who hail from overseas.

    While five of those players are eligible for their adopted nations purely on residency rules, Tuipulotu qualified through ancestry.

    The 28-year-old's Greenock-born grandmother was at Murrayfield last autumn to see him score a try while leading Scotland to a 27-13 defeat of the Wallabies.

    "I put so much on myself that I really wanted to be a Lion because I know how much it means to people over here," said Tuipulotu, who initially feared his tour participation may be ruined by injury.

    "I had gone all in with the stuff with Scotland and I just felt what better way to prove my allegiance to Scotland than go all in and try and make the Lions. That's why it meant so much to me.

    "Genuinely early days you have that feeling of 'Am I part of this">