‘Relax’: Tupou hopes win renews faith in Wallabies

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Saint-Etienne: Taniela Tupou believes he has more in the tank for Australia’s next Test against Fiji and hopes a long-awaited Wallabies win over Georgia has assured fans that the team can do some damage at the World Cup.

After a terrific performance against France a fortnight ago, Tupou solidified his standing as Australia’s front-row strike weapon with another excellent outing in a 35-15 win over Georgia in Paris on the weekend.

The Wallabies held their own at scrum-time against a heavy Georgian pack, while Tupou provided one of the moments of the match when he threw a looping pass to set up Ben Donaldson’s first international try before celebrating with a little dance of his own.

No one is getting too carried away in Wallabies camp about the 20-point Georgia win considering they are ranked outside the top 10 in the world, but it is a step in the right direction.

“To finally put together a performance we can be proud of … hopefully people can relax a little now,” Tupou said.

“We try our best to not look into that [criticism]. We understand why people are upset. It’s a new team and lots going on behind the scenes.”

Tupou came back from a rib injury to feature for Australia against France a fortnight ago and was even more impressive in a first-up World Cup match that has Australia quietly confident ahead of a next up assignment against Fiji on Sunday (Monday 1:45am AEST).

Taniela Tupou popped a pass that would have done Mark Ella proud to set up Ben Donaldson for a try.Credit: AP

Expect more, says the big tight-head prop, who scrummed well but admits he was feeling extremely nervous before his first Test of a second World Cup campaign.

“My body is [100 per cent], my lungs are not,” Tupou said. “I feel good. A few more games and the body will adjust. It’s so f—ing hot out there, man.

“To be honest, I came into this game very nervous. I thought we did well against France last week and the expectation [would be] to do well against Georgia.”

As for his potential long-range try that Donaldson ended up finishing off, Tupou said teammates were sledging him for his celebration.

“I thought I had it, mate,” Tupou said. “I was hoping I was 10 metres [ahead]. I think if I dummied and kept going I would have had it. I am just as happy that I set up someone else. I was hoping he scored because I was tired.”

At one point, Tupou thought he wouldn’t be playing at the World Cup when he ruptured his Achilles tendon against Ireland in November.

Then when Eddie Jones was appointed Wallabies coach in January, Tupou had no idea if he was still going to be picked, despite forging a reputation as one of the world’s best tight-head props.

Jones has said he thinks Tupou can be the No.1 prop in the world.

“I don’t know how to take those compliments to be honest,” Tupou said. “I’ll just keep my head down and keep working hard, and hopefully, I’ll end up there one day. There’s so many in front of me.

“I didn’t know anything about Eddie. [I was] real nervous, scared, I don’t know what he’s like … [whether] I was his type of player. All I had to do was keep working hard and hopefully come back in and earn my spot in the team. I was lucky he saw something in me.”

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