FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Autumn Internationals - England v Australia - Allianz Stadium Twickenham, London, Britain - November 9, 2024 Australia's Taniela Tupou in action REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou admits his performances this season have not been up to scratch and concedes that he might not make the Australia squad for the British & Irish Lions series in July and August.
The powerful Tongan-born tighthead moved to the New South Wales Waratahs for this season after the demise of the Melbourne Rebels but has been relegated to the bench after turning in a series of disappointing displays in Super Rugby.
"I really think it's mental, because the performance is not there and I start to second-guess myself, and start asking questions. 'Can I do this? Is this for me?' Or, 'am I good?' You start playing in your head," Tupou told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"It feels like I just don't know what I'm doing, you know? I'm nervous to do things I used to do well, I used to just be running the ball, and just offloading, and just able to do things.
"But I'm nervous to throw a pass. I don't know what it is, but I hope I can find a solution, because I want to play well for the Tahs, and I want to hopefully get back in the Wallabies one day."
The 28-year-old said he has received plenty of support from the coaches at the Waratahs as well as Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and hoped he could reward them with an upturn in his form.
"My focus now is just trying to play well for the Waratahs because at the moment I'm not performing, and it was a goal of mine to play against the Lions," he said.
"But if I'm being honest with myself, I'm no chance of making that team because of how I've been performing this year."
Tupou earned the nickname "Tongan Thor" as a rampaging schoolboy forward in New Zealand before moving to Australia to be with his brother.
He has played 58 tests for the Wallabies since making his debut against Scotland in 2017 and is on one of Rugby Australia's most lucrative contracts, which is reported to earn him A$1 million ($641,000) a year.
That deal expires at the end of the year and he wants to stay on for the 2027 World Cup on home soil, but knows the offer of a new contract is also dependent on his form.
"It means so much to play for the Wallabies," he said. "This is the country that gave me so much. They gave me opportunities, me and my family."
($1 = 1.5601 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Michael Perry)
