Inside a football stadium in a city where rugby often struggles to make its presence felt, Sione and Mosese Tuipulotu will this afternoon line up against each other for the first time. It feels like a fitting setting.
The brothers’ journey to the point where one is now Scotland captain and a key player for Glasgow Warriors and the other is a fledgling international looking to make his name at Edinburgh has been a winding one.
It began, though, for both in Melbourne, Victoria, a city and state where rugby union has traditionally come a distinct third in the locals’ affections behind football — the Aussie Rules version — and rugby league.
Two factors emerged, however, to partially shift that perception. One was the influx of settlers from the Pacific Islands where rugby union remains hugely popular, among them the Tuipulotus’ father, Fohe, a proud Tongan who shared that passion with his five children.
The second was the…
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