Despite leaving Australia’s shores to further his career in Europe, Wallabies tighthead prop Taniela Tupou has revealed that he still wants to play for his country and is keen to be in action at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Last month it was confirmed that Tupou, who is Australian rugby’s highest-paid forward, will be joining Top 14 outfit Racing 92.
In recent years, the Wallabies‘ head coach was limited in selecting overseas-based players due to Rugby Australia’s Giteau Law where a player has to meet certain requirements in order to play abroad and for the national team.
There have been a relaxation on the restrictions since Phil Waugh has become Rugby Australia’s chief executive, although the Wallabies’ current head coach Joe Schmidt has still been reluctant to select too many overseas-based players.
Rugby Australia urged to follow Springboks’ lead
Former Wallabies fly-half Quade Cooper recently urged Australia’s governing body to ditch its ‘outdated restrictions’ over player selections and follow the Springboks’ lead of picking players who are based all around the world.
And although he will be plying his trade in France, Tupou hasn’t given up on featuring at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia after he resurrected his international career with an outstanding performance in the Wallabies’ 22-12 victory over the British & Irish Lions in Sydney on Saturday.
“I always make myself available for the Wallabies, whether I’m in France or wherever I am,” he said. “So if they need me, I’ll 100 per cent put my hands up.
“So hopefully this isn’t the last time. Hopefully there’s more to come.”
The man known as the ‘Tongan Thor’ has endured a tumultuous season at the Waratahs, where he played off the replacements bench in most of their Super Rugby Pacific matches.
He even claimed that he didn’t deserve to be in action in the Test series against the British and Irish Lions, but after shining against the famous touring team while in action for the First Nations & Pasifika XV, Schmidt named him in the Wallabies starting line-up for the third Test against the tourists.
Tupou did not disappoint as he delivered a superb all-round performance in Melbourne on Saturday and after struggling with his form in 2025, he is delighted that he could deliver the goods when it mattered at Test level for the Wallabies.
“I’m glad I’m part of this one and part of a win against the Lions. There’s a lot of Wallabies legends who don’t get a chance to play against the Lions,” Tupou said.
‘We’ve been through a lot this week’
“We needed this win. We’ve been through a lot this week and the last few weeks and it’s good to be out there playing footy because for me I only played the (one) game.”
“I need to keep playing footy so this helps me. Hopefully I keep playing and who knows what happens in the Rugby Championship, so fingers crossed.”
The 29-year-old said he was highly motivated to do well against the Lions and made the most of the opportunity during a 60-minute stint on the field against the Lions.
“It’s always an honour to be named in the Wallabies, to represent Australia. I was quite emotional when I sang the anthem,” he said.
“And as you get older, these opportunities mean a lot more to you and you tend to think when you get older, ‘Oh man, one of these games could be the last’.
“So I was just soaking in the environment, the crowd and everything. It was it was pretty cool to be part of it. So delighted we won the game.”