His days of running over "little white boys" may be over, but Taniela Tupou is embracing the scrummaging challenge laid down by Reds coach Brad Thorn.
And it may prove the catalyst for a maiden Wallabies run-on start next month against Ireland, providing Tupou can maintain his strong form across the Reds' final four Super Rugby matches before the June Test break.
Tupou played a key role in the Reds' shock 27-22 victory over the Lions in Brisbane last Saturday as the Queenslanders scored four first-half tries, two of which came from set-piece. Embarrassed by the Chiefs a week earlier, Tupou said those first-half rewards were a result of a far more focused defensive approach.
"It was a good win for us, we needed to win that game," Tupou said Monday. "The whole week last week we were working hard on our defence because the week before that we played the Chiefs and we weren't good enough. Thorny [Reds coach Brad Thorn] spoke after the Chiefs game and just said we need to work hard on our defence and I thought we did that, and we did well on the weekend against the Lions."
Tupou has been a constant at tightead for the Reds this season, apart from the interstate clash with the Waratahs when he was ruled out with a shoulder injury. The setback robbed him of a showdown with incumbent Wallabies tighthead Sekope Kepu, but he did test himself against another front-row contender: the Brumbies' Allan Alalaatoa.
"I was looking forward to playing Keps in that Tahs game because obviously he's been there for a long time and obviously I got injured. But I was lucky enough to go against Allan Alalaatoa; he's an upcoming star," he said. "Two years ago I got to learn from him and now I got to play against him and hopefully I will play with him in June."
Originally a global YouTube sensation, Tupou has proven himself to be far more than a damaging ball-runner this season. The Reds' strong set-piece work won't have been lost on Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, putting Tupou firmly in the frame for his second Test cap after he came off the bench in the 50-27 defeat by Scotland to end 2017.
"Thorny doesn't want me to focus on running; he wants me to work hard at D [defence] and scrummaging, and running will come later on," Tupou said. "So it hasn't been good [running game] but I'll be working on that, too."
Tupou first toured with the Wallabies as a development player in 2016 but at that stage was yet to fulfil his residency requirements. Twelve months on with his period now served, he linked up with the squad after playing in Queensland Country's victorious National Rugby Championship campaign and earned his first cap against Scotland.
Given Tupou's lack of Super Rugby time up to that point, the twin spring tours have proven vital in his set-piece development.
"It helped a lot, especially in scrum time because coming from school in New Zealand as a big prop just running over little white boys; if you don't know how to scrum you can't play," Tupou said of the 2016 and '17 overseas trips.
"So to learn off guys like James Slipper, Sekope Kepu and Allan Alalaatoa...I'm looking forward to working with them in June or at the end of the year."
The Reds have the bye this week before heading to Tokyo in Round 13 for a clash with the winless Sunwolves.
Cheika will name his Wallabies squad for the three-Test against series against Ireland later this month.