Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu saluted a dominant 27-13 victory over Australia at Murrayfield — and admitted it was ‘special’ to receive the Hopetoun Cup from his delighted granny.
The Scots ran riot in the second half, with tries from Duhan van der Merwe, Josh Bayliss and Finn Russell adding to one from Tuipulotu in the first half.
Gregor Townsend’s side blew the Wallabies away in their final match of the Autumn Test series, ensuring that the year finished on a high. But Tuipulotu, whose granny had travelled to Scotland from Down Under for the game, believes that they let the Aussies off lightly.
The skipper insisted that Scotland should have scored more — and claimed that the best is yet to come looking ahead to the Six Nations in February.
‘We’re really happy with that win,’ he said. ‘But I think the scary thing for this group is that’s probably just a six or seven out of ten performance against a good team.
‘We made a lot of errors on our set-piece when we were clean through. If we can clean up those things and maybe be a bit more ruthless in the finish zone, we’re a pretty dangerous team.
Skipper Sione Tuipulotu lifts the Hopetoun Cup after Scotland’s 27-13 victory over Australia
Tuipulotu shared an emotional moment with his gran before she presented him with the trophy
A jubilant Gregor Townsend enjoys the victory with Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham
‘Throughout the week, we were pretty confident. We definitely didn’t expect to beat them easily or anything, but we didn’t really feel like Australia had played a defensive team like us or an attacking team like us so far in the autumn.
‘It’s a good win, but I don’t think it’s the best win or anything. We’re looking forward to the Six Nations now.’
It was an emotional day for Tuipulotu and his family, with his grandmother in attendance to watch him play for Scotland for the first time.
Born in Greenock, 77-year-old Jacqueline Thomson is the reason he qualifies to play for Scotland — and it was a touching moment when she presented him with the Hopetoun Cup at the end.
‘It was super special,’ he said. ‘I don’t score many tries, to be honest. Not for Glasgow, not for Scotland.
‘But that one was pretty special to score while my grandma was here and knowing how much she also wanted to beat Australia.
‘When she handed me the trophy at the end, she whispered in my ear and said: “We got them”.
‘She lives with my dad at our family home back home [in Australia]. So my dad will pick her up from the airport when she goes home. She’ll be safe!
‘I feel really blessed because of this all happening. And not just for me. Before the match, I was a little bit emotional about the fact that her life’s gone full circle.
‘She moved over to Australia as a young girl and raised my mum with limited stuff. And now she gets to enjoy this, gets to sit in the stand and get some recognition. It makes me so happy.’
Meanwhile, Townsend was also of the belief that, despite the scoreline, the performance had been far from perfect.
The win was a much-needed confidence boost at the end of a difficult year for the Scotland head coach and his players.
Insisting they can still improve ahead of the Six Nations, he said: ‘There was more in us. We weren’t as accurate in the first half.
‘It shows we can get a win when we’re not playing as well. There were moments in the game that I loved. We saw what it meant to our fans to beat a quality team.
‘To be honest, the South Africa game was still the best performance. The physicality, the effort, and responding to losing a man for 20 minutes. That was up there with England at Twickenham last year.
‘Even though it hadn’t been a great first half, we still produced what was needed in the second half.
‘That was pleasing, but there’s more to come from this group.’
