Carwyn Tuipulotu remains one for the future, even though he has been noticeably off Welsh rugby’s radar this season.
So reckons Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel about a young player who had a blockbusting schoolboy career as a hard-driving back-row forward, leading to rave reviews and hopes that he might prove the real deal at senior level.
Injury has checked the progress of the 21-year-old who has family links to Taulupe Faletau and Billy and Mako Vunipola, but he has returned to fitness and is ready to start building again.
“He’s played just the one game, 50 minutes of rugby, this season,” said Peel.
“What happened was he had a nasty injury when he was progressing well — I thought he added energy to us towards the end of last season. He played for Llanelli against Llandovery and then we took him to Africa. He was due to play again last weekend, for Llanelli against Bridgend, but that got called off because of frost.
“Carwyn just needs games and minutes under his belt. He’s definitely one for the future. He’s a ball carrier who’s physical but he’s still young and needs to learn the game. Hopefully, weather permitting this week, he’ll play for Llanelli again and get a good chunk of time.”
The jump from age-grade rugby to the senior game is huge, but Tuipulotu’s physicality and raw power should stand him in good stead as he tries to make a mark, while his handling skills were developing nicely before his injury.
“What we’ve tried to do since I’ve been in is to work him hard in terms of understanding the work-rate required," Peel said of the former Wales U20s player. "He’s always been a physical specimen. He was a big schoolboy but the game’s very different for him now.
“At 128-130kg, he’s a big man and he still carries that physicality. He just needs repeatability and he’s only going to get that through playing.
“I was disappointed for him with his injury because another pre-season would have been great for him, to have that big block and play some games, because I think he would have really kicked on.
“But he’s still a young man and he has time on his side. We have good hopes for him. He’s going to be a good one.”
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