Sione Tuipulotu set to join exclusive Greenock Wanderers club with Lions start
A SCOTLAND rugby player with family ties to Greenock is set to join an exclusive club on Friday.
Sione Tuipulotu has been named in the starting line-up for the British and Irish Lions' match against Argentina in Dublin - with the squad looking to say farewell on a high note before boarding the plane for their tour of Australia.
Advertisement
(Image: Andrew Milligan/ PA Wire) He is the first Greenock Wanderers member to receive a Lions call-up in over 100 years, following in the footsteps of James Reid Kerr, who was chosen for the first-ever 'British Isles' tour to South Africa in 1910.
Tuipulotu is one of four Scottish players chosen to face the Pumas for the 'Lions 1888 Cup' on Friday, with Pierre Schoeman and Duhan van der Merwe also in the starting XV and Tupulotu's Warriors team-mate Scott Cummings on the bench.
Tuipulotu was born in Australia but qualifies for Scotland, and therefore for the Lions, through his Greenock-born grandmother, Jacqueline Thomson, who grew up a stone's throw from the Wanderers' Octavia Terrace home before emigrating 'down under' in the 1960s.
Both Tuipulotu and his brother Mosese, also a Scotland international, were given honorary Wanderers life membership, along with Jacqueline, last year.
Advertisement
Though Reid Kerr was selected for that 1910 tour, injury meant he was unable to play - meaning that, barring any last-minute hitches, Friday night will see Tuipulotu become the first Greenock Wanderers member to play for the Lions.
The Scotland captain previously revealed how emotional a moment it was to learn he'd made it into Farrell's squad after cruelly missing out on Scotland's Six Nations campaign earlier this year.
He said: 'When I got hurt, that's all that came into my mind, is that I wouldn't be able to play for Scotland in the Six Nations when I'd just been named skipper, and it felt like I let the country down a little bit.
'Then you add in the fact that it was a Lions year, and I'll be blatantly honest, I thought it (Lions chance) was over for me.
Advertisement
'It was a natural reaction to be so worried when you can't be out there influencing the situation.
"Hearing your name, you get the relief and also the reassurance of what you've done already. Now it's just about coming back and proving I'm a better player than when I got hurt.'
Kick off in Dublin is 8pm.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Box-office bookends & daunting December - Buddies' standout games
As starts - and ends - to a season go, St Mirren are in for a stiff test. Stephen Robinson's side face last season's Scottish Premiership top three in the first four games of the new term, and the top two and Scottish Cup winners, in the final four. Advertisement After lifting the curtain on the campaign away to champions Celtic, the Buddies welcome Motherwell to Paisley on Saturday, 9 August. Russell Martin's Rangers come to town two weeks later, before St Mirren wrap up August in the capital against Hibernian. A jam-packed, six-game December sees festive trips to Aberdeen (6 December), Hearts (13 December) and Rangers (30 December). Fast forward to the end of the pre-split campaign and it's equally eye-opening. The Buddies wrap up the season where they started it at Celtic Park on Saturday, 11 April. The week before, the Dons are at the SMISA after Rangers visit two matchdays before. It's quite the start, middle and end for the Buddies... what do you make of it? Looking at the fixture list, where do you think St Mirren will be after 10 games? Tell us here.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mary Fowler shortlisted for PFA Player of the Year gong
Australian star Mary Fowler is on the six-person shortlist for the Professional Footballers' Association Women's Player of the Year award. Voted for by fellow professional players, Fowler was included, along with teammate Yui Hasegawa, following her most productive Women's Super League season to date for Manchester City. They are joined by Alessia Russo and Mariona Caldentey from European champions Arsenal, Erin Cuthbert from WSL champions Chelsea, and Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. Well deserved 👏Yui Hasegawa and Mary Fowler have been voted into the Top Six of the @PFA Players' Player of the Year award! 🏆 — Manchester City Women (@ManCityWomen) June 20, 2025 Also in the running for the PFA Young Player of the Year gong, 22-year-old Fowler picked up six goals and seven assists in the campaign, and her two goal involvements in four successive WSL matches set a competition record in February. Despite having her season cut short by injury in April, the Matildas star was the only City player to reach double figures in goals and assists in all competitions. Japan international midfielder Hasegawa - who won City's Player of the Season award - completed the most dribbles in the WSL across the campaign and was involved in more shot-ending sequences than any other player in her position. She also won possession more times than any other player in the top flight across the season. Russo scored eight times in Arsenal's European success and was joint top scorer in the WSL with 12 goals. Her teammate Caldentey managed nine goals and five assists in the WSL and added eight more in the Champions League. The winner will be announced at the PFA Awards ceremony in Manchester on August 19.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
1 Hotels launches new property in Australia's Melbourne
Starwood Hotels-operated luxury lifestyle brand 1 Hotels has expanded its presence with the launch of a new property in Melbourne, Australia. Situated along 220m of the Yarra River frontage in the revitalised North Wharf precinct, the property is established in collaboration with Riverlee. The property offers 277 guest rooms, encompassing 36 suites, featuring sustainable materials and energy-efficient technologies. Guest rooms are equipped with smart thermostats, energy-saving switches, and low-VOC materials while the walls are curated from discarded railway sleepers from New South Wales and Victoria. 1 Hotels founder and Starwood Hotels chairman Barry Sternlicht said: "The opening of 1 Hotel Melbourne marks a powerful moment for our brand as we expand in the Asia Pacific region. "As we grow our global footprint, we're focused on markets that reflect our values—places where nature, culture, and innovation converge in meaningful ways." The property also includes 114 hotel-branded homes, providing residents with private dinners, in-residence spa treatments, a private outdoor terrace and communal spaces with views. The 18th-floor penthouse is designed by Clement Lee OAM, founder of Melbourne-based Riverlee, in partnership with Fender Katsalidis. The hotel's design pays homage to the historic Seafarers Wharf. The hotel also provides more than 1,000m² of flexible event space, including the riverside Seafarers Event Space that can house up to 900 guests. Developed in collaboration with Carole Bamford, the Bamford Wellness Spa features a wellness area with an indoor pool and a fitness centre called The Field House Gym. The hotel aims to garner LEED Silver certification, featuring a 50kW solar array and a rainwater harvesting system. Additional eco-friendly features include shower timers and operable windows in 85% of the rooms. The opening of the Melbourne property follows the launch of 1 Hotel Mayfair in the UK, in November 2023, the brand's first European property, developed in collaboration with Crosstree Real Estate Partners. "1 Hotels launches new property in Australia's Melbourne" was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
