Sione Tuipulotu wells up over Mum making it to Marseille

FAMILY SUPPORT: Sione Tuipulotu is delighted his mother will be able to see him play live for the first time in four years. Pic: Adam Peck

Sione Tuipulotu hardly needed the extra motivation ahead of Scotland’s World Cup opener against reigning champions South Africa this Sunday but he got it when his mother Angelina arrived in Paris from their native Australia on Wednesday.

His mum, whose own mother Jacqueline was born in Greenock, had never missed a game during his days with the Melbourne Rebels but this will be her first time to see her son play in the flesh for four years.

The 26-year old centre spoke with her shortly after she reached the French capital and he came close to tears as he explained to the media how much it will mean to him to have her at the stadium at the weekend.

“It was quite an emotional phone call. She just said how proud she was. Obviously it’s her mum that is part of my Scottish heritage and she said she is really proud when she sees me during the anthem and hears the background in terms of Murrayfield, the noise and stuff like that [while watching on TV].

“I can’t really imagine how she is going to feel this weekend with the noise in Marseille when I’m playing the world champions. That is part of my motivation this week, I don’t need any extra motivation because my mum is over and she hasn’t seen me play for a while.

“She travelled all the way from Australia. She explained the route to me and she had quite a hard time with admin. She is terrible with admin, just like me, and she made a few mistakes along the way but she’s here. She made it.” 

Tuipulotu’s Tongan father Fohe has been able to make it north to see his son play since arriving in Scotland from Yamaha Jubilo in Japan two years ago but this one will be that bit more special given the gap it will bridge.

“Everyone has their rugby journey in terms of where they’ve come from. When it’s your own mum, only you know what she has been through to get you to this point. Her story is something I have always thought about as a motivation for me in my rugby and I suppose it’s all just climaxed towards this weekend.”