Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu insists he and his team-mates will show full respect to Fiji’s pre-match war dance when the teams clash at Murrayfield today.
The issue of pre-match rituals has been a hot topic heading into the Autumn Tests after England prop Joe Marler claimed earlier this week that New Zealand’s Haka is ‘ridiculous’ and ‘needs binning’.
Although Marler has since apologised, his comments have lit the blue-touch paper ahead of England facing the All Blacks at Twickenham this afternoon.
Scotland will have their own challenge to contend with when the Fijians perform their war dance, known as the ‘Cibi’, prior to kick-off.
Tuipulotu, who has a Tongan father and is fiercely proud of his family heritage, has stressed the importance of full respect being shown to the opposition.
Sione Tuipulotu says his team-mates will respect Fiji’s war dance on Saturday
The 27-year-old is set to captain his country for the first time this weekend
He said: ‘I know it’s come from rugby league and their reaction to the war dances. But, first and foremost, I think people need to realise that the war dance is a sign of respect for the other team.
‘It’s a ritual before you go into a battle and, if you think of it in a logical way, if they didn’t respect you, they wouldn’t be doing the war dance because they don’t see you as a threat.
‘It’s been a ritual in rugby for, I don’t know, the last hundred years, so I don’t know why now it’s a problem.
‘For us, we need to get our heads around facing the Fijian war dance and we’ll just tackle it the way we’ve always tackled it — and show our respect.
‘We’re taking a stand against it as well, we’re binding up as a team, but I think there’s ways of doing that and not being disrespectful.’
Tuipulotu admitted this will be the proudest day of his career as he captains Scotland for the first time.
England’s Joe Marler (left) has apologised after calling for the Haka to be scrapped. The All Blacks perform the pre-match war dance ahead of every international fixture
When Gregor Townsend initially approached him about being skipper, however, the Glasgow Warriors man feared it was because he may have strayed out of line.
‘Gregor came into Glasgow to speak to me,’ said Tuipulotu. ‘The Scotland coaches often come into Glasgow every now and then just to talk about how we’re going and what we need to do better.
‘We were in a big group and then he asked me to stay back after the group. I thought I was in trouble, to be honest.
‘So I was a bit anxious about it. But then he just basically asked me how I would feel about captaincy. I was taken back by it a little bit, just because I didn’t expect it.
‘I’ve had some good experiences captaining Glasgow over the last couple of years and vice-captain with Scotland. It’s a huge honour, but one I feel ready for.
‘It’s a special thing for me and my family to celebrate the journey and everything they’ve done to get me here. So, yeah, I’m really happy.’
Tuipulotu was instrumental for Glasgow Warriors last season as they won the United Rugby Championship.
He has continued that form at the start of the new season – and insists this Scotland team are ready to deliver some big results and challenge for silverware moving forward.
He also stressed that he remains committed to Glasgow despite being out of contract next summer and being linked with clubs in the English Premiership.
‘I’m just desperate to win,’ said the 27-year-old.
Fiji are at Murrayfield this weekend aiming to kick off their Autumn Nations Series with a win
‘Genuinely, I think I’d never won anything before last year in the URC.
‘After winning that, one thing that became evident to me is that I’m so desperate to win now. I got a taste of it winning with Glasgow.
‘I feel the urgency in the room with Scotland now — the way we train, the way we prepare, and with the men that are in the group.
‘I feel like there’s an urgency to win and win now. That’s where my mindset is now, that I’m desperate to win.
‘In terms of my contract, I’m definitely looking to stay to the end of it at the moment.
‘I’ve got six months left at Glasgow and, like I said, I’m desperate to win and I really feel like Glasgow at the moment is a winning team and it’s fun to play rugby at the moment under Franco [Smith].
‘Yeah, I’m happy where I am and in terms of the future after that. All I can say is that I’m happy in Scotland, I’m happy in Glasgow.’
Scotland prop Zander Fagerson will make a late call on whether he is available to play against Fiji today after he missed training yesterday due to a personal issue.
