Tuipulotu relishing the resumption of his personal battle with Aussie star Suaalii as wounded beasts prepare to go head-to-head at Murrayfield

Over these past couple of years, since making a big-money switch from league to union, Joseph Suaalii has emerged as the new poster boy for Australian rugby.

A player with an outrageous skill set and the physique to match, it was hoped that Suaalii would carry the Wallabies forward into a golden new era.

But there are some who remain unconvinced. Not only in Australia, where Suaalii has often found himself on the receiving end of some stinging criticism from fans and pundits, but also from further afield.

On the back of Australia’s emphatic 45-22 defeat at Twickenham last weekend, former England winger Chris Ashton gave a scathing verdict on Suaalii’s performance on the wing.

‘We keep trying to find positives for Australia and say that they’re moving in the right direction, but I’m not seeing it,’ said Ashton.

‘They keep signing league players. This Suaalii gamble, I dread to think how much he gets paid. He doesn’t look like an international rugby union player to me.’

Ouch. It was at Twickenham two years ago where Suaalii had really burst on to the scene in such spectacular fashion with a man-of-the-match performance.

Yet, over these past few days in the build-up to this afternoon’s clash with Scotland at Murrayfield, he’s been under the microscope like never before.

Perhaps he is held to a higher standard than others in this Australia team on account of his reputation and a salary which is understood to be around £1million per year.

But it should also be noted that playing on the wing is not his best position. He is a centre and he has been restored to that more familiar role for the game against the Scots.

It is in the midfield where he will be in direct opposition to Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu. Knowing how things work in Australia better than most, the criticism of Suaalii has not been lost on Tuipulotu.

‘I know there’s been a few things flying around this week about him,’ said the Scotland skipper. ‘I wish they could have done that on another week (when he wasn’t about to play Scotland).

‘My brother was with him at the Waratahs and he only had good things to say about him. I know how much of a talented athlete he is and there’s only so much you can poke someone (criticism in the media) before they respond.

‘We are wary of the bounce back and we’re certainly not delusional enough to think that these kind of players won’t play well against us.

‘I expect the very best version of Joseph Suaalii in this game and I’m excited to go up against him again.’

The contest between Tuipulotu and Suaalii in midfield should be box-office. It will be a clash of the titans as Scotland and Australia both desperately chase a victory to keep alive their hopes in this Nations Championship.

There is history between the two. When the Aussies lost 27-13 at Murrayfield two years ago, Suaalii put in a crunching hit on Tuipulotu that sent a shudder around the stadium.

Yet, despite it being a huge tackle, it was actually Suaalii who came off second best. He injured his arm and would play no further part in the game.

The pair were seen exchanging a few heated words as Suaalii left the field, before their personal rivalry was renewed when Tuipulotu toured Australia with the British and Irish Lions last year.

Having grown up in Melbourne, Tuipulotu admits this particular fixture will always get his juices flowing given how he was effectively snubbed by Australian rugby before making a new career for himself in Scotland.

On the contest with Suaalii and facing the Wallabies again, he said: ‘There’s always words exchanged, but I’ve never been someone to quote what’s said on the field. It’s just not my style.

‘I usually say a lot of things on the field. I would like it if people don’t quote me, so I’m not going to quote him (in terms of what he said after that tackle). I’d rather that stuff stay on the field.

‘I’m so competitive, there are a lot of things that I say on the field — I often wonder what people outside of the game must think of me.

‘That’s why I don’t judge people, anyone, by what happens on the field. I am a different animal on the field compared to off it.

‘It’s just rugby, man. We’re out there playing a physical sport. I’m not going to sugarcoat anything. You’ve got to go out there and compete.

‘Even from being on the Lions, you learn that some of these guys that you thought you hated so much, you rub shoulders with them off the field and you realise it’s just sport. Go out there and compete but don’t get disrespectful.

‘That day the tension had gotten high, and it’s gotten high in a lot of other games as well. So, yeah, it’s not just an isolated incident. I think that one just maybe got the headlines because maybe he had to come off, or maybe he was just freshly into union. I don’t think it was that big. I think it got exaggerated a little bit.

‘But if I’m honest, I think I will always have that little bit of fire bubbling away whenever I play against the Wallabies.

‘I’ve done it a few times now, both with Scotland and also with the Lions. But there’s a bigger picture than just looking at me and my history with Australia.’

Tuipulotu explained that there had been a few frank and honest conversations in the Scotland camp on the back of last weekend’s crushing defeat against the All Blacks.

To his credit, he held his hands up immediately after that game and admitted that he had been nowhere near his best.

It is in this midfield battle, where he will dovetail with Finn Russell and Huw Jones, that Tuipulotu needs to give Scotland a much-needed spark against the Wallabies.

After looking like they had made good strides in this year’s Six Nations, there is a danger that the whole thing could fall flat for Scotland again if they were to lose against Australia.

The victory over France was the high-water mark not only for this year, but perhaps for the whole of Gregor Townsend’s nine-year tenure.

Asked why Scotland aren’t able to replicate those performance levels on a more consistent basis, Tuipulotu said: ‘It’s a golden question, isn’t it?

‘After the New Zealand game, we met as leaders and talked about our own performances. I think that’s really important in Test matches. Your leaders need to step up and have big days in big Test matches. Not necessarily 10 out of 10 games, but I think lifting our floor.

‘We just need to be honest with ourselves and say, as leaders, our performance just wasn’t good enough. Just be blatantly honest. I think that’ll be a massive part of bridging the gap from a whole team’s perspective, but also the leaders lifting the floor of our performance.’

It is quite simply win or bust for Tuipulotu and his team-mates. If the real Scotland turn up, they should have too much class for Australia.

But if they fluff their lines again, they will be consigned to finishing among the also-rans in this inaugural Nations Championship.