Tupou needs to tame Lions to earn Wallabies recall
Tupou was demoted from the Wallabies line-up to face Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday and will instead turn out for his NSW Waratahs against the British and Irish tourists at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
Schmidt hasn't closed the book on Tupou winning selection for the Wallabies' opening Test against the Lions in Brisbane on July 19 but said he needs to see more from the 29-year-old, who was in patchy form this Super Rugby Pacific season.
"With Taniela, I'd love to see him just be really, really strong at set-piece," Schmidt said from Newcastle.
"I think the set-piece is somewhere that can be a real strength for him and I felt in the Super Rugby, toward the end, he had some pretty good performances, particularly in the scrum, and then just making sure he's contributing around the field as best he can."
Schmidt said that the best form of Tupou's 58-Test career wasn't that long ago, and urged the France-bound prop to revisit his last international appearance, against Ireland in December.
"The last game he played for us was against Ireland and he made a 50-metre dash up the field at one stage and he was very strong in the scrum.
"And so we haven't forgotten that and I'm hoping, and I've spoken to "Nella", that he hasn't forgotten it either.
"He knows he's capable and we just want to see him demonstrate that capability."
The Waratahs mark the third tour match for the Lions, who have had commanding victories over the Western Force and Queensland Reds.
Andy Farrell's men have been particularly dominant in the second half, outscoring the two Australian sides 64-0.
Schmidt said the tourists hadn't been at their best in those victories, which demonstrated their massive depth.
"They've been pretty impressive," Schmidt said.
"I think in the two games in the first 20 minutes they haven't really started that well ... they've actually missed a few opportunities and the more cohesion they develop, the more they'll be dangerous in finishing some of those opportunities.
"They've got incredible strength and depth so as we see them play the Waratahs they'll develop those combinations and that will be what we'll be tracking beyond this Fiji game."
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt wants Taniela Tupou to send a reminder about what he can bring to the Test arena when the powerhouse prop squares off against the Lions.
Tupou was demoted from the Wallabies line-up to face Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday and will instead turn out for his NSW Waratahs against the British and Irish tourists at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
Schmidt hasn't closed the book on Tupou winning selection for the Wallabies' opening Test against the Lions in Brisbane on July 19 but said he needs to see more from the 29-year-old, who was in patchy form this Super Rugby Pacific season.
"With Taniela, I'd love to see him just be really, really strong at set-piece," Schmidt said from Newcastle.
"I think the set-piece is somewhere that can be a real strength for him and I felt in the Super Rugby, toward the end, he had some pretty good performances, particularly in the scrum, and then just making sure he's contributing around the field as best he can."
Schmidt said that the best form of Tupou's 58-Test career wasn't that long ago, and urged the France-bound prop to revisit his last international appearance, against Ireland in December.
"The last game he played for us was against Ireland and he made a 50-metre dash up the field at one stage and he was very strong in the scrum.
"And so we haven't forgotten that and I'm hoping, and I've spoken to "Nella", that he hasn't forgotten it either.
"He knows he's capable and we just want to see him demonstrate that capability."
The Waratahs mark the third tour match for the Lions, who have had commanding victories over the Western Force and Queensland Reds.
Andy Farrell's men have been particularly dominant in the second half, outscoring the two Australian sides 64-0.
Schmidt said the tourists hadn't been at their best in those victories, which demonstrated their massive depth.
"They've been pretty impressive," Schmidt said.
"I think in the two games in the first 20 minutes they haven't really started that well ... they've actually missed a few opportunities and the more cohesion they develop, the more they'll be dangerous in finishing some of those opportunities.
"They've got incredible strength and depth so as we see them play the Waratahs they'll develop those combinations and that will be what we'll be tracking beyond this Fiji game."
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt wants Taniela Tupou to send a reminder about what he can bring to the Test arena when the powerhouse prop squares off against the Lions.
Tupou was demoted from the Wallabies line-up to face Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday and will instead turn out for his NSW Waratahs against the British and Irish tourists at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
Schmidt hasn't closed the book on Tupou winning selection for the Wallabies' opening Test against the Lions in Brisbane on July 19 but said he needs to see more from the 29-year-old, who was in patchy form this Super Rugby Pacific season.
"With Taniela, I'd love to see him just be really, really strong at set-piece," Schmidt said from Newcastle.
"I think the set-piece is somewhere that can be a real strength for him and I felt in the Super Rugby, toward the end, he had some pretty good performances, particularly in the scrum, and then just making sure he's contributing around the field as best he can."
Schmidt said that the best form of Tupou's 58-Test career wasn't that long ago, and urged the France-bound prop to revisit his last international appearance, against Ireland in December.
"The last game he played for us was against Ireland and he made a 50-metre dash up the field at one stage and he was very strong in the scrum.
"And so we haven't forgotten that and I'm hoping, and I've spoken to "Nella", that he hasn't forgotten it either.
"He knows he's capable and we just want to see him demonstrate that capability."
The Waratahs mark the third tour match for the Lions, who have had commanding victories over the Western Force and Queensland Reds.
Andy Farrell's men have been particularly dominant in the second half, outscoring the two Australian sides 64-0.
Schmidt said the tourists hadn't been at their best in those victories, which demonstrated their massive depth.
"They've been pretty impressive," Schmidt said.
"I think in the two games in the first 20 minutes they haven't really started that well ... they've actually missed a few opportunities and the more cohesion they develop, the more they'll be dangerous in finishing some of those opportunities.
"They've got incredible strength and depth so as we see them play the Waratahs they'll develop those combinations and that will be what we'll be tracking beyond this Fiji game."
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"Relationships between nations essentially come down to relationships between people," he told ABC Radio on Saturday. "It is a great way in which our nations can show our commonality. We are all members of the Pacific family." Australia has provided $10 million over seven years for the Fijian Drua women's and men's teams in the Super Rugby Pacific and Australia Super W competitions. Some $600 million over a decade for a PNG NRL team had also cemented the relationship between the two neighbouring nations, Mr Albanese said. He said investments in sports were linked with education and economic development, resulting in better health outcomes and stronger, more secure and smarter Pacific populations. At a time when the United States is pulling away and China and Russia are trying to increase their influence, the prime minister stressed the importance of positioning Australia as the partner of choice. "We have a considerable defence and security presence throughout the Pacific and that's very much, in these uncertain times, in Australia's interests," he said. "One of the ways that we cement that is through those personal relations." Mr Albanese was keen to highlight Australia's upgraded defence and security relationships with Fiji, PNG, Tuvalu, Nauru and other smaller nations in the Pacific. "We are family and we assist each other as friends, not with strings attached," he said. "What we do is we help each other out because of our common interests and our common values." Mr Rabuka met with Governor-General Sam Mostyn at Government House in Canberra earlier this week. In a keynote address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, he spoke glowingly of bilateral ties between Suva and Canberra in a deteriorating world. "Unfortunately for now, I contest the region's outlook is more uncertain than at any time since Fiji's independence in 1970," he said. "Perhaps we have reached a point in our Fiji-Australia relationship where a renewed and elevated Vuvale partnership needs a further step-up to an agreement for a treaty." Anthony Albanese has hailed the importance of personal relationships with Pacific nations at a time when other powers are seeking to increase their influence. The prime minister, who will host Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka when the Wallabies take on Fiji in their one-off Rugby Union Test in Newcastle on Sunday, reiterated the importance of soft diplomacy in the region. "Relationships between nations essentially come down to relationships between people," he told ABC Radio on Saturday. "It is a great way in which our nations can show our commonality. We are all members of the Pacific family." Australia has provided $10 million over seven years for the Fijian Drua women's and men's teams in the Super Rugby Pacific and Australia Super W competitions. Some $600 million over a decade for a PNG NRL team had also cemented the relationship between the two neighbouring nations, Mr Albanese said. He said investments in sports were linked with education and economic development, resulting in better health outcomes and stronger, more secure and smarter Pacific populations. At a time when the United States is pulling away and China and Russia are trying to increase their influence, the prime minister stressed the importance of positioning Australia as the partner of choice. "We have a considerable defence and security presence throughout the Pacific and that's very much, in these uncertain times, in Australia's interests," he said. "One of the ways that we cement that is through those personal relations." Mr Albanese was keen to highlight Australia's upgraded defence and security relationships with Fiji, PNG, Tuvalu, Nauru and other smaller nations in the Pacific. "We are family and we assist each other as friends, not with strings attached," he said. "What we do is we help each other out because of our common interests and our common values." Mr Rabuka met with Governor-General Sam Mostyn at Government House in Canberra earlier this week. In a keynote address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, he spoke glowingly of bilateral ties between Suva and Canberra in a deteriorating world. "Unfortunately for now, I contest the region's outlook is more uncertain than at any time since Fiji's independence in 1970," he said. "Perhaps we have reached a point in our Fiji-Australia relationship where a renewed and elevated Vuvale partnership needs a further step-up to an agreement for a treaty." Anthony Albanese has hailed the importance of personal relationships with Pacific nations at a time when other powers are seeking to increase their influence. The prime minister, who will host Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka when the Wallabies take on Fiji in their one-off Rugby Union Test in Newcastle on Sunday, reiterated the importance of soft diplomacy in the region. "Relationships between nations essentially come down to relationships between people," he told ABC Radio on Saturday. "It is a great way in which our nations can show our commonality. We are all members of the Pacific family." Australia has provided $10 million over seven years for the Fijian Drua women's and men's teams in the Super Rugby Pacific and Australia Super W competitions. Some $600 million over a decade for a PNG NRL team had also cemented the relationship between the two neighbouring nations, Mr Albanese said. He said investments in sports were linked with education and economic development, resulting in better health outcomes and stronger, more secure and smarter Pacific populations. At a time when the United States is pulling away and China and Russia are trying to increase their influence, the prime minister stressed the importance of positioning Australia as the partner of choice. "We have a considerable defence and security presence throughout the Pacific and that's very much, in these uncertain times, in Australia's interests," he said. "One of the ways that we cement that is through those personal relations." Mr Albanese was keen to highlight Australia's upgraded defence and security relationships with Fiji, PNG, Tuvalu, Nauru and other smaller nations in the Pacific. "We are family and we assist each other as friends, not with strings attached," he said. "What we do is we help each other out because of our common interests and our common values." Mr Rabuka met with Governor-General Sam Mostyn at Government House in Canberra earlier this week. In a keynote address at the National Press Club on Wednesday, he spoke glowingly of bilateral ties between Suva and Canberra in a deteriorating world. "Unfortunately for now, I contest the region's outlook is more uncertain than at any time since Fiji's independence in 1970," he said. "Perhaps we have reached a point in our Fiji-Australia relationship where a renewed and elevated Vuvale partnership needs a further step-up to an agreement for a treaty."
