Tuipulotu has agreed a new three-year deal to stay at Glasgow WarriorsThe 27-year-old centre is in terrific form and had been linked with a move awayGregor Townsend has handed him the Scotland captaincy for the Autumn Tests
The news that Sione Tuipulotu has committed his future to Glasgow Warriors and signed a new contract, thought to be worth around £300k per year, is undoubtedly a huge coup for Scottish Rugby.
Appointed as the new Scotland captain just a couple of weeks ago prior to the Autumn Nations Series, Tuipulotu has been one of the form players in world rugby over the past year or so.
Indeed, the decision from Gregor Townsend to hand him the captaincy offered a major hint that a new deal had all but been agreed.
It would have been a terrible look for Scottish Rugby had the newly-appointed skipper snubbed the contract offer and moved elsewhere.
Tuipulotu certainly wasn’t short of suitors. He had concrete offers on the table from clubs in the English Premiership, as well as interest from France.
In the past, these situations have tended to only go one way. Whenever Scotland’s best players are being offered big money elsewhere, they have tended to leave more often than not.
Sione Tuipulotu is soaked with champagne as Zander Fagerson lifts the URC trophy last season
Gregor Townsend named Sione Tuipulotu as his Scotland captain for the Autumn Tests
Tuipulotu’s form for Glasgow – and his country – had generated interest in his talents
We saw it with the likes of Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray all choosing to leave Glasgow Warriors.
Adam Hastings was another when he joined Gloucester, before coming back up the road this summer.
It was the same with Duhan van der Merwe. The Scotland winger left to join Worcester Warriors, only to move back to Edinburgh once the English club had suffered a financial implosion.
Blair Kinghorn left Edinburgh for Toulouse in a life-changing move last year, albeit that deal was reflective of Edinburgh’s poor on-field performances as much as it was the finances on offer.
When clubs from England or France start making their interest known and start flashing the cash, we normally know how it’s going to end.
Which is why the retention of Tuipulotu feels significant. It bucks the trend and puts an end to the assumption that Glasgow and Edinburgh can’t afford to keep their best players.
Granted, given that their budgets come from the central fund of the SRU, the money will only go so far.
Neither of the clubs will ever have the finances available to assemble squads with the outright depth of talent as many of those in England and France.
But if there is a greater strike rate now when it comes to keeping hold of Scotland’s best players, that is to be welcomed.
Tuipulotu will now be one of the highest-paid players in the history of Scottish rugby. It feels refreshing that we’ve been able to hold on to one of our top talents.
His decision to stay with Glasgow is also reflective of an English Premiership which has lost its lustre and appeal.
With the league shrinking in size, and with so many clubs facing financial difficulties in recent years, it’s not all it’s been cracked up to be.
At the Warriors, Tuipulotu is a key player for a team who won silverware last season in the United Rugby Championship.
He is now captain of his country. Playing at the peak of his powers, the expectation is that he will be a Test starter for the British and Irish Lions on their tour of Australia last summer.
Now that he has committed his future to Glasgow and Scottish Rugby, this is proof that players don’t always need to jump ship. Long may it continue.
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COMMENT: Scotland skipper Sione Tuipulotu signing a new deal feels significant. It bucks the trend and puts an end to the assumption that Glasgow and Edinburgh can’t afford to keep their best players, writes Calum Crowe
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