Taniela Tupou shows off some freakish strength while out injured
Taniela Tupou may be out with torn Achilles tendon at the moment, but that has not stopped him hitting the gym during his time off. That begs the questions, if this is how strong the prop is while injured, what will he be like when fully fit?
The 48-cap Wallaby hit the squat rack recently, and had a sizeable 250kg resting on his shoulders. That would have been mightily impressive for anyone to squat, but the tighthead went one step further. Instead of just squatting the weight, he performed lunges, which is almost like lifting the weight on one leg. That goes from impressive to ‘is this guy a freak of nature’ kind of territory.
The craziest thing is that he is still not back to full fitness. The prop recently revealed that he will start running again this month having picked up the injury in November while playing against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium. The 27-year-old is targeting a return in July, and has then left the ball in Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones’ court as to what will happen from there.
“It’s up to Eddie if he wants me to be a part of the team,” the prop recently said.
“At the moment, I’m focusing on getting the strength back in my Achilles and calf and I’m still two weeks away from running. Can’t wait for that.
“I’m not sure, maybe around July I’ll be playing some club footy and who knows.
“I’m lucky enough I’ve got a few months before the World Cup for me to get that confidence back playing club footy and trying to earn my way back to international level.
“But if I only had a month or two before the World Cup, I don’t think I would be as confident.”
Take a look at Tupou in the gym:
Light work 😳
We can't wait to see Taniela Tupou back on the field soon! pic.twitter.com/QuUoMeG6Ne
— RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) May 24, 2023
