Benin teen eyes global rugby stage, challenges gender norms
As the sun dips low over Cotonou, fifteen-year-old Kadidjath Ouedraogo and her father, Amidou, make their way to a twilight training session on the rugby pitch, each step echoing her dream of one day representing Benin on the global stage. Sean Hogan has more.
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Don't know how funny that gag is – Sione Tuipulotu laughs off ‘Aussie' dig
Sione Tuipulotu insists the British and Irish Lions must continue to shrug off any provocation during their tour of Australia after their overseas-born contingent were attacked by the Tannoy announcer at Optus Stadium. Tuipulotu, one of eight players in Andy Farrell's squad who were born, raised and educated in the southern hemisphere, was among those caught in the crosshairs before Saturday's 54-7 rout of Western Force. 'Another Aussie at number 12, Sione Tuipulotu,' was how the Scotland centre was introduced when the team was read out for the Lions' opening match on Australian soil. Mack Hansen, James Lowe and Pierre Schoeman were also referenced by the nation of their birth rather than their adopted country, for whom they have qualified either through residency or family heritage. It continued a theme from the hosts that began when Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt described Tuipulotu and New Zealand-born Ireland international Bundee Aki as a 'southern-hemisphere centre partnership' in the build-up to the defeat by Argentina in Dublin. Tuipulotu emphasised the words 'good humour' when brushing aside the jibes that he expected on his return Down Under. 'I knew there would be some 'good humour' coming back home to Australia. These are all things we've got to take in our stride,' he said. 'To not announce the elephant in the room, I am from Australia. I was born here. I don't know how funny that gag is to everyone! 'I'm loving my rugby playing for the Lions and I'm really passionate about it. Andy's brought the group together so well.' The victory in Perth exposed several shortcomings such as a high penalty count and creaking set-piece, but there was also much to admire in the attacking exuberance that produced eight classy tries. Tougher tests than the Force await on tour but combined with the evidence gathered from the Aviva Stadium eight days earlier, Farrell's Lions are clearly keen to keep the ball alive – and on this occasion the passes stuck. Finn Russell was at the heart of onslaught in his first outing of the tour and the Scot's instinctive play drew approval from Farrell, who declared: 'He's ready to go. And that's good.' Tuipulotu, who expects to be firing by the Test series as he continues his comeback from a significant ankle injury, said: 'We're taking ideas from all the nations. 'Obviously, the coaching style is very Ireland dominant and there are a lot of ideas that we're getting from the Irish coaches, but then those ideas are being sprinkled on. 'When Finn comes in, he plays his style. He plays to the structure of the team, but he's a very instinctive player and he wants to play what's directly in front of his face. 'There's a mixture there and that's what's going to make it hard to defend for opposition teams. 'They're not necessarily defending a structure of play, they're defending a structure of play with really supreme individuals conducting it like Finn. 'Finn's a world-class number 10 and he's been here, been there, done that. He's come off a really good season after winning the Premiership with Bath and I thought him and Tomos Williams controlled the game really well. 'We're still growing, there's a lot of growth left in us but the identity at least, you could see how we try to play the game out there.'
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'Tuipulotu finds feet again and hails world-class Ringrose and Russell'
Having missed the Six Nations through injury, Sione Tuipulotu feels he's now finding his best stuff again, the kind of power and influence that shot him to favourite for the Lions Test 12 jersey in the first place."I'm starting to get my feet back underneath me," said the centre after playing the full 80 minutes in the convincing win over Western Force on Saturday."Obviously, I haven't played Test rugby since the autumn. I still feel like I've got massive growth to do and I know I can start playing my best rugby in the bigger games at the end of this tour."There's no doubt he is getting better with every game. There's also no doubt that the battle for the Test midfield partnership is Perth the partnership was Tuipulotu and Garry Ringrose, who the Scotland captain was impressed by, to put it mildly. "Jeez, mate, he's a missile out there," Tuipulotu said of the Irishman's enjoyed being alongside Ringrose in the red of the Lions as opposed to in front of him in the blue of last time Tuipulotu faced Ringrose in the international arena was at the World Cup in Paris in 2023. Ireland sprinted into a 36-0 lead before Scotland managed a couple of late consolation tries. Ringrose was exceptional on one of the darker days of Tuipulotu's Test career."He backed himself to make those [defensive] reads," said Tuipulotu of the howitzers Ringrose put in on a succession of Western Force attackers. "He left a few sore bodies out there, including himself. What a player."I really enjoyed playing with him. And then I also enjoyed when Shuggie [Huw Jones] came off the bench and got some valuable minutes after being out for a while."In all probability Jones, after his Lions debut against the Force, will get his chance to shine from the start on Wednesday when Andy Farrell's side face the more difficult challenge of the Reds in Brisbane. The Reds, coached by incoming Wallabies boss Les Kiss, finished fifth in this season's Super Rugby compared to the Force who struggled in in Perth, when the stadium announcer was calling the teams, Tuipulotu was introduced as "another former Aussie Sione Tuipulotu", a crack at the Melbourne-born centre's expense. Mack Hansen, James Lowe and Pierre Schoeman, the other southern hemisphere-born Lions, got similar treatment from the wiseguy with the had a chuckle at the wind-up. "I knew there would be some good humour coming back home to Australia," he said. "Look, these are all things we've got to take in our stride. To not announce the elephant in the room, I am from Australia. You know, I was born here. I don't know how funny that gag is to everyone."But I'm loving my rugby playing for the Lions and I'm really passionate about it. Andy [Farrell] has brought the group together so well. To play under a coach like him, I can see why Ireland has been so successful in the past." Tuipulotu also spoke about fly-half Finn Russell's influence on the game and the stamp he's putting on the 2025 Lions."We're taking ideas from all the nations. Obviously, the coaching style is very Ireland dominant and there's a lot of ideas that we're getting from the Irish coaches, but then they're sprinkled on. When Finn comes in, he plays his style. He plays to the structure of the team, but he's a very instinctive player and he wants to play what's directly in front of his face."There's a mixture there and I think that's what's going to make it hard to defend for teams. They're not necessarily defending a structure of play, they're kind of defending a structure of play with really supreme individuals conducting it, like Finn."Finn coming into the line-up helped a lot. I've played a lot of rugby with Finn so that combination doesn't really need to be worked on."He's a world-class number 10. He's been here, done that. He's come off a really good season after winning the Premiership with Bath and I thought him and Tomos [Williams] controlled the game and were able to move the ball like we talked about during the week. You could see how we're trying to play the game."In a lighter moment during the press conference after the game, Farrell mentioned that the squad had created their own song, a first blast coming in Perth."I think Fin Smith and Huw Jones wrote up the song. We got the first crack of it in the changing room. I'd like to perfect it before I share it to the world. Yeah it was pretty rough, to be honest. We were off beat, so we're going to need a few more practice runs before we nail it and put it out to the media."Out of tune off the pitch, perhaps, but they hit enough right notes against the Force. Onwards to Brisbane now and the Reds on Wednesday.
