They used to battle in a Melbourne backyard. Now they’re facing off in a Test at Murrayfield

Résumé détaillé

Isaac Kailea, Sione Tuipulotu and their cousins grew up together dreaming of playing for the Wallabies. Three of them may end up in Scotland colours.

Edinburgh: When Isaac Kailea was growing up in suburban Melbourne, playing bruising games of backyard footy with his brothers and “cousins”, the common goal was to grow up and play for the Wallabies.

Remarkably, at least two of the backyard crew did go on to play Test rugby – and another two are on track to make it, as well.

But Kailea was the only one to fulfil the original dream of doing it for the Wallabies. His backyard rival turned rugby role model, Sione Tuipulotu, did it for Scotland, and the pair will face off for a second time at Murrayfield on Monday morning (AEDT).

Tuipulotu’s younger brothers Mosese and Ottavio – who both played for the Waratahs – are now also playing professionally in Scotland, and both are tipped as good chances to follow in Sione’s footsteps one day.

“I grew up with him and his younger brothers as well. We pretty much just call each other cousins, I call his dad my uncle,” Kailea said. “Our dads met in Melbourne, they’re both of Tongan heritage, and there’s a couple other families there, all Tongan as well, that we all grew up with.

“So a lot of boys and a lot of a lot of pretty rough games in the backyard. But he [Sione] was always sort of the leader amongst the kids. He was the oldest.

“We never played a proper organised match together, but we played a couple of times in the backyard, and he used to run amok. He’d smash us.”

Tuipulotu progressed up the ranks in Victorian junior rugby, played a record three years for the Junior Wallabies and eventually became the first homegrown player to debut for the Melbourne Rebels in 2016.

But after struggling to get game time at the Rebels, Tuipulotu moved to Japan, and then with Scottish heritage through his grandmother, the fiery centre moved to Glasgow in Scotland. He debuted for the Scots in 2021 and was made captain in 2024.

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