Scotland accept 'trust' issue with fans ahead of Six Nations campaign

The Glasgow Warriors centre, who missed last year’s tournament through injury, conceded that some supporters may have lost faith in Scotland after a disappointing autumn campaign and in particular the match against Argentina.

The Scots led 21-0 but collapsed in the second half, conceding five tries in the final 23 minutes to lose 33-24.

It prompted unprecedented scenes in the Murrayfield stands, with many fans booing while others walked out before the end.

Tuipulotu has never ducked his responsibilities as skipper but senses less expectation around the team this year. Nevertheless, he said there was a determination to try to bring the supporters back on board.

“I think the other teams deserve the expectation more than us,” said Tuipulotu. “And I think that may be a good thing, for us not to carry the expectation of everyone.”

He said the aim was to, “go play single games and earn the trust of each other, and also probably regaining some of the trust from the public. [It] is something that I'm really excited to do. And it starts in Rome”.

Faith can be hard to win but also easily lost and Tuipulotu said the supporters were entitled to vent their frustrations. The 28-year-old hopes he can change people’s perceptions of this Scotland side over the coming weeks as they open their Six Nations campaign against Italy in Rome a week on Saturday then face England at home, Wales away, France at home and Ireland away.

Tuipulotu accepts role in firing line

“I think a lot of them probably have the right to feel like that as supporters,” said Tuipulotu. “But at the end of the day, and this is the thing that I take responsibility for, is that when you're the captain, you're at the front of the line when things go well, which is probably how it went well the previous autumn when we beat Australia and things like that….

“But you're also at the front of the line when things don't go well, and I'm fully on board with that. That's my role as captain. But also, there's so many things that happen in Test Rugby from the outside. And we are the men in the arena, and it's important that we remember that. We're the ones that go out there and have to wear the armour and, I suppose, wear the pressure and everything like that.

“And that's what I love about rugby. So it's important that we also internalise in the group how we think about ourselves, not take public perception in, because perception will change when results come, and that's when you see things flip pretty quickly.

“I've seen that in Test Rugby over the last year, year and a half, two years, so it's nothing that I'm not used to.”

The difficult autumn campaign has not adversely affected ticket sales and both Scotland’s home games, against England and France, are sold out. Tuipulotu thinks it’s an indication of the loyalty shown in the team.

“Our supporters are right behind us,” he said. “Look at the Murrayfield tickets [sales].

“I can't tell you how proud I am to play for Scotland when I rock up to Murrayfield. But I think we got served up the same criticism when we were at Glasgow, when maybe we were struggling to get those wins. But it's funny how quickly public perception changes, and it's often the people that probably ride you the hardest that you come back and check when you're doing well, and what we've been doing well for Glasgow are the same people now that are riding our coattails a little bit.

“So it's funny to see that dynamic, at least, and I'm hoping that will be the same dynamic for Scotland.”

Huwipilotu takes centre stage

Tuipulotu is looking forward to renewing his partnership at Test level with club-mate and good friend Huw Jones who announced earlier this month that he would be leaving Glasgow at the end of the season to join Toulon. Jones, 31, missed the autumn series after undergoing surgery on a persistent Achilles issue following the British and Irish Lions’ tour of Australia.

Tuipulotu and Jones linked up to good effect on the tour, playing together in the emphatic first Test win in Brisbane. Tuipulotu said the news of Jones’ imminent move to the Top 14 had left him with “mixed feelings”.

“I'm really happy for him that he’s got that opportunity to go play in France,” said Tuipulotu. “He's probably getting to that stage in his career where he deserves to go and explore the world and explore different competitions. And I'm really happy for his family, his young family, that he gets to go over there and experience that.

“On the other side, I'm sad that I won't get to play with him for much longer, in the Glasgow colours at least. I suppose I even said to him that I just want to make this year special, you know? Because squads change.

“I thought the same thing when Tom [Jordan] left last year [for Bristol]. He was another one of my really close mates. Rugby changes every year. You think you're going to have that squad forever, but it's not true.”

“It's important that we make the most of our combination while we're at Glasgow, but also we've still got a lot of rugby to play for Scotland together.”

He said that playing with the Lions gave him an insight into the top players from some of Scotland’s Six Nations rivals but acknowledged that it cut both ways.

“They've also got insight into you so it works both ways,” he said. “I suppose there's so many preconceived ideas about how people play, but when you're getting in there and getting coached by the Irish coaches or the English coaches, it's interesting to see how they go about their business. And, yeah, you do pick up a lot of things.

“And I think most importantly, on the Lions tour, you learn a lot. I know we're all at the pinnacle of the sport by the time we make the Lions, but it's crazy how much more you can learn by the time you get to a Lions tour. So that was the main thing for me.”