Tuipulotu: I'll be glad to see my old mates

SIONE Tuipulotu spent last weekend making friends with his new British & Irish Lions team-mates then turned his attention to catching up with some old pals down under this summer.

- By ADAM HATHAWAY

The Scotland centre was in London last Sunday for the Lions meet and greet at a Richmond hotel where he got to know players from the other three nations who he will be facing the best of Australia.

Tuipulotu is going home as he was born in Frankston, in Victoria, and played his early professional rugby in Melbourne before heading north of the equator and signing for Glasgow.

He is not the only player who struggled to get a regular gig in that part of Australia and players from his generation scattered all over the rugby globe some representing other countries, like France second row Emmanuel Meafou, and others part of the Wallabies who Tuipulotu will lock horns with this summer. The 28-year-old said: “There’s quite a few. The Melbourne boys Rob Leota, Rob Valetini, Hunter Paisami, I've known all of them since we were 12 years old and we grew up together in the system.

“One part of my looking back on what's happening in Australia, I’m always keeping up with it, is that I'm always cheering for those boys because a lot of us got looked over.