Then, at the age of 16, she took up an invitation to give rugby a try and, in a matter of three years, has moved from No 8 to second row, and finally up to prop.
No sooner had she first picked up the ball than it was obvious she was going to be a major hit on the field. She already has a World Cup under her belt from earlier in this season, she has helped her club, Gloucester–Hartpury qualify for the play-off semi-0finals in the Premier 15s and plundered three tries in the TikTok Six Nations.
You know things are going well when your teenage prop is your top try scorer and she has picked up back-to-back player of the match awards. But now comes the acid test both for the rising young star of Welsh women’s rugby, Tuipulotu, and the whole Wales team as they bid for a Triple Crown against reigning champions England at a sold-out Cardiff Arms Park today.
A year ago, she made her first Wales start against England at Kingsholm in another shot at the Triple Crown. She was an 18-year-old rookie then, but how things have changed in the space of a year!
This time round she will be the cornerstone of the Welsh pack and a player who the England coaches and players will have to know all about. Such has been her advance in a year that she is now considered to be a major threat on the international stage, both at the set-piece and as a devastating ball carrier.
After she scored a try in the opening round win over Ireland in the Welsh capital, Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham didn’t hold back in his praise:
“I genuinely believe that Sisilia could be one of the best props in the world. Today she showed what she can do,” he said.
Follow that, we all thought. So, she did, with two tries and another player of the match award in the win in Scotland.
Rugby runs thick in the blood of the Newport-born Tuipulotu. Her father, Sione, played at two World Cups for Tonga and won 29 caps for his country. He also played professionally for The Dragons and Caerphilly.
One cousin, Carwyn Tuipulotu, plays in the back row for Scarlets, while another, Taulupe Faletau is a Wales and British & Irish Lions legend, currently playing at Cardiff Rugby. Among the messages of ‘good luck’ ahead of this season’s tournament were notes from other relatives, the Glasgow and Scotland centre Sione Tuipuloto, as well as the Vunipola brothers, Billy and Mako.
Oh, and her little brother has just been called up for England U18 and a cousin who has been drafted into the England U18 squad.
You would be forgiven for thinking that she had a rugby ball thrust into her cot as a baby but that wasn’t the case. She played Netball from the age of eight to 16, when a chance encounter with the rugby coach at Hereford Sixth Form College lured her into her family’s speciality sport. The rest, as they say, is history.
“There are loads of men in my family that play rugby and that encouraged me to play. Knowing what they can do I just wanted to be better. It wasn’t an easy road to get to where I am right now,” said Tuipulotu.
“I first picked up a rugby ball when I was 16 at Hereford Sixth Form College. I wasn’t allowed to play rugby when I was younger because my parents were scared I might get hurt.
“I was allowed to pass a rugby ball around with my brothers and my cousins, but not in a team. My parents wouldn’t allow it, then when I turned 16, I went against their decision.
“I played Netball from the age of eight. One of the coaches said come and give rugby a try and I’ve loved it ever since. I was a No 8 then and since then I’ve made myself to the front row.
“I’m learning every day and taking every step as it comes. Getting my first try was try against Ireland was very special.”
Now a full time professional within the Wale squad, she is also the lead figure in the TikTok social media department for the team. She is often seen dancing with her teammates and is helping to build a major following.
There were 20 family members celebrating with her on the pitch after the Ireland game and the party will be even bigger and better if she can help Wales achieve only a third win over England today.
