“To be honest, I can’t remember what I did yesterday, never mind in the [last Italy] game, but I know we lost,” Tupou said.
“It’s a lesson for us to learn going into this game and not taking it lightly. They’re [Italy] a good team and you can see what they’ve done against South Africa and the Six Nations against England.”
Taniela Tupou training last week in London.Credit: Getty Images
Although Tupou can’t remember the exact details of what happened on the field in Florence, he remembers an executive from Rugby Australia coming to speak in the changing room, followed by Rennie. The team then travelled to Dublin, where Ireland beat them by three points.
“Hopefully, we don’t have to go through that this week and get a good win,” Tupou said.
“We want to win this game, whatever that looks like, I’ll leave the selection to Joe [Schmidt] and the staff, but I’m thinking they’ll pick the best team available and we’ll treat Italy just like England and Ireland and France.
Loading
“They’re not easy to beat so it’s a must-win for us, so I’m expecting a full-strength Wallabies team this week.”
The Wallabies trained on Monday afternoon in perfect sunshine and blue skies in Udine, which is set to be the case all week.
There are no injuries reported from the England defeat, with Schmidt likely to give Carter Gordon his first opportunity to play for the Wallabies since the 2023 World Cup.
Tupou isn’t looking to the future, he’s simply enjoying the present in Italy, which includes dominating the Wallabies’ low-stakes card school, pulling pranks on his teammates and training hard.
“I enjoy everything, including the travelling. Some things used to upset me, not anymore; I’m just living life and enjoying it, trying to enjoy everything I do,” Tupou said.
“Like I said before, there are only a few of these [Tests] I have left in me, so I enjoy it while I can.”
Watch all the action from the 2025 Wallabies spring tour on Stan Sport
