Tongan Thor makes EPIC assist with blind pass even Quade Cooper would be proud of

Wallabies prop Taniela Tupou produced an incredible no-look pass to set up a late try against the Springboks on Saturday in Brisbane.

The 25-year-old prop, nicknamed ‘Tongan Thor’, was inspirational for the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium and was right at the heart of the action with some huge carries, brilliant scrummaging and delicate handling.

The Tongan-born front rower played a key role in two of Australia’s tries against the Springboks beginning with a powerful surge through South Africa’s defence in the first half to set up a score for Len Ikitau.

Taniela Tupou like a wrecking ball 😤

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— Stan Sport (@StanSportAU) September 18, 2021

However Tupou’s greatest highlight from the Test match was his brilliant one-handed pass to assist Marika Koroibete late on in Brisbane and send thousands of fans wild.

Taniela Tupou is BOX OFFICE 🍿

The Rugby Championship. Every Match. Ad-free. Live & On Demand.#StanSportAU | #AUSvRSA | #TRC2021 pic.twitter.com/LkiibpMS5v

— Stan Sport (@StanSportAU) September 18, 2021

Tupou’s fantastic contribution to the game helped the Wallabies to a 30-17 win making it back-to-back victories for Australia over the reigning world champions. Full Match highlights are available below:

Taniela Tupou. What a shift! Faced two top looseheads, the second a fresh, world class Kitshoff when TT was most fatigued. To put his 78+mins in perspective – he went within 2mins of being the first Wallaby prop to play a full Test since Toby Smith v URU RWC’15. That’s 71 Tests

— Mal_Varez (@mattfa91) September 18, 2021

Anyone remember when they used Taniela Tupou’s pic for the reason to get rid of substitutes because players are getting too big. Pretty sure I’m watching him here still pretty dominant in the 72nd minute for the @wallabies

— Jonathon Lance (@jonno_lance) September 18, 2021

Taniela Tupou.

Have you ever.

What a ball.

He joked that the Wallabies would win by 25 if they gave him the No.10 jersey.

No other tighthead prop can do what he does.

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He must start for the Wallabies to be world champions.

— Christy Doran (@ChristypDoran) September 18, 2021

Captain Michael Hooper lifted the Mandela Challenge Plate on behalf of the Wallabies for the first time since 2018 as they move to third place on the World Rugby rankings.

The game was a significant milestone for Hooper, who captained the Wallabies for a 60th time in his career, taking the record from legendary scrum-half George Greegan. Now 29, Hooper first captained Australia as a 22-year-old in 2014.

Congratulations to Michael Hooper who will break the record for most Tests as Wallabies captain this weekend! Here is a look back over the years in the green & gold. ⬅️💙🏉 #fortheloveofrugby pic.twitter.com/CMJiQR4BP9

— NSW Waratahs (@NSWWaratahs) September 16, 2021

Saturday marked Hooper’s 113th Test match for Australia since making his debut in 2012 and he is without doubt one of the greatest flankers to have ever played the game.

“It’s an incredible milestone for Hoops on Saturday evening in Brisbane and it’s a testament to him as a person and a player,” said Australia head coach Dave Rennie. “I’ve been so impressed with his leadership both on and off the field and his drive to be better every day.”