‘Inspirational’ Patrick Tuipulotu shrugs off injury to lead Blues to Super Rugby glory
Sunday, 23 June 2024
Patrick Tuipulotu was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in their quarterfinal win over the Fijian Drua two weeks ago.
After waking up pain-free on Monday, he was named to make a shock return and lead the Blues in Saturday’s Super Rugby Pacific final against the Chiefs.
Tuipulotu played 57 minutes and earned man-of-the-match honours as the Blues won 41-10 to claim their first title since 2003.
Patrick Tuipulotu cradled the Super Rugby Pacific trophy as though it was a newborn baby on Saturday night, while he and coach Vern Cotter picked through the finer details of the Blues’ 41-10 win over the Chiefs in the 2024 decider.
For the All Blacks lock, it was a moment 10 years in the making, going back to his debut as a 21-year-old in 2014. For the franchise he leads – and for the city he calls home – it was 21 years in the making.
Tuipulotu was just 10 years old the last time the Blues stood supreme as Super Rugby champions. Now 31, he knows just how rare such triumphs can be. Which was why he did everything he could to take his place alongside his Blues brothers on the field at Eden Park.
A knee injury suffered in their quarterfinal win over the Fijian Drua at the same venue a fortnight ago was supposed to have ruled him out for seven weeks. But on Monday, once a home final against the Chiefs was locked in, he woke up feeling no pain. As he tested his knee out, “he saw the physio’s eyes light up”.
Then there it was on Wednesday afternoon, when team naming rolled around at 4pm.
No 4: Patrick Tuipulotu (captain).
On the eve of the match on Friday, he said: ”It feels pretty unreal that I’ve gone through that and all of a sudden I’m back and playing in the final. I surprised myself with how well I went”.
But there was more to come still. Almost an hour of action, highlighted by a surge up the middle in the 13th minute that led to an early penalty for Harry Plummer to slot through the posts. A total of 14 carries for 63 metres, a man-of-the-match medal to hang around his neck in addition to his championship one, and a trophy to treasure until it’s time to give it back.
Most special of all, however, was what happened when he was called to the sideline, just after the clock ticked past 57 minutes, with the result all-but certain, thanks to one of the most dominant displays in the history of Super Rugby deciders. Tuipulotu protested afterwards, saying he was “pretty gutted” only to have played that many.
But if he hadn’t been subbed off, there wouldn’t have been the spectacle of the standing ovation he received, where the 44,035-strong crowd at Eden Park rose as one to honour his performance.
“I can't really explain it,” Tuipulotu said when asked what that felt like. “It's pretty unreal, walking off, and then a full Eden Park is clapping you off. I don't think many people get that, so I'm pretty honoured to have that, and to do it as a winner.”
One of Cotter’s first moves after taking charge was to restore Tuipulotu as captain, a role he gave up when he took a playing sabbatical in Japan in 2022. On Saturday, his choice of leader looked extremely astute.
“He was inspirational for his team-mates,” Cotter said of Tuipulotu, “with his carries, and his defence, his lineout and just his presence.
“It was going to be a battle of the tight fives and forwards, so he was really instrumental in getting us going forward and keeping us going forward and dragging people with him. That's what you want from a leader.”
The 2024 Super Rugby Pacific final won’t be remembered as a thriller. Far from it. But it will be remembered for the way Tuipulotu made his comeback and led from the front.
After “21 years between drinks,” as Cotter put it, the Blues have plenty to celebrate. Tuipulotu revealed on match eve that he had stayed away from alcohol all season and that that might have helped with his recovery, but he had a beer with him as he spoke afterwards.
When he went down two weeks ago, it looked like an expected return to the All Blacks fold, after missing last year’s Rugby World Cup, would have to be put on hold – and that new coach Scott Robertson would be faced with a growing crisis at lock.
Whether just short of an hour in the Super Rugby final will have Tuipulotu ready for a test match against England in Dunedin in two more weeks’ time remains to be seen, but he certainly sounded like someone eager to keep going – once the celebrations are over and done with.
Asked if he would be “good to go,” when the All Blacks squad is named on Monday afternoon in Christchurch, Tuipulotu said: “We'll see when we get to Monday – if they can find me”.
Wherever he goes, the Super Rugby Pacific trophy he and the Blues have earned won’t be far behind.