The Stade de Nice sits next to the local branch of Ikea, and it is fair to say eve-of-match press briefings often come flat-packed at the Rugby World Cup. Scotland offered up the usual pleasantries before their crucial Pool B encounter with Tonga, confirming their disappointment with the opening defeat by South Africa, along with a firm intention of making amends against the Pacific islanders on Sunday evening.
In the case of Sione Tuipulotu, though, this is a meeting laden with extra significance, beyond Scotland’s urgent need to trouble the scorers in a fiercely competitive pool. The 26-year-old inside-centre, who lines up with Chris Harris in a refreshed centre pairing, was born in Melbourne to a Tongan father and Australian mother before spending the first four years of his life on the Pacific island.
