![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_Bath-Rugby-v-Bristol-Bears-Gallagher-PREM.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWales’ loss is certainly England’s gain<\/p>\n
Welsh born Bath hooker Kepu Tuipulotu(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Bath star Kepu Tuipulotu revealed why he turned down an invitation from Warren Gatland<\/a> to join Wales’ Six Nations<\/a> squad to pursue an international career with England.<\/p>\n The 20-year-old was born in Pontypool where his dad, Sione, forged a career playing for Caerphilly<\/a>, Pontypool and the Dragons. Tuipulotu qualifies for England on residency after taking up a scholarship at the prestigious Harrow School<\/a> in London.<\/p>\n He was initially a student at Caldicott Preparatory School in Buckinghamshire, resulting in the powerful forward representing England at age-grade level.<\/p>\n The explosive hooker is rated so highly that he was offered an opportunity to join Wales’ senior Six Nations squad in 2024 at just 18 years old.<\/p>\n He received a message from his dad, saying Gatland wanted to speak to him.<\/p>\n \u201cI had something niche, like photography,\u201d he told The Times.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThankfully the teacher showed me some grace. It was a surreal moment getting that call, but I was just coming off playing academy rugby and I hadn\u2019t played the men\u2019s game. I just didn\u2019t feel it was the right opportunity for me to pursue.\u201d<\/p>\n JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE Latest news, analysis and much more<\/a><\/p>\n Tuipulotu comes from a strong rugby family and is a relative of both Taulupe Faletau and the Vunipola brothers while he is a cousin of former Scarlets<\/a> No 8 Carwyn Tuipulotu who is now plying his trade for Pau in the Top 14.<\/p>\n His sister, Sisilia, plays for Wales Women. Tuipulotu is grateful for the opportunities English rugby has given him allowing him to represent England at age-grade level as well as the A team.<\/p>\n \u201cYou show your patriotism to a country that wants you and that you want [to represent] as well,\u201d he told The Times.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYou have that pull towards that nation when you\u2019ve gone through the pathway. I have shown my allegiance and patriotism to them, because they put their effort and their time into me.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m also Welsh, I was born in Wales, but I feel with everything that\u2019s happened, you feel you belong to a nation that gives to you, and you feel you have to give back what they\u2019ve given to you.<\/p>\n “The England route is where I feel most tied.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here<\/a> and our WhatsApp channel here<\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wales’ loss is certainly England’s gain Welsh born Bath hooker Kepu Tuipulotu(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images) Bath star…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55,9015,44105],"class_list":["post-521272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wales-rugby-team","tag-warren-gatland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}