NSW Waratahs recruit Taniela Tupou’s scary off-season bungy jump gamble

One of NSW’s key signings for 2025, Taniela Tupou is aware of the daunting task facing the Waratahs. But it pales in comparison to a terrifying off-season activity.

The challenge of turning around the NSW Waratahs is not the most daunting task Taniela Tupou has faced, as the star Wallabies prop recalled the horror of bungy-jumping off a Queenstown bridge over the summer holiday.

Tupou, one of NSW’s key signings for 2025, took his wife and her family to New Zealand’s south island over the Christmas break and was mortified when he weighed in just five kilograms under the bungy limit and was tied with extra body harnesses in preparation for the 43-metre leap over the Kawarau River.

“My missus forced me to do it, and I had to do it,” Tupou said.

“I left here (Australia), I was 143kg because I did a bit of training, I wanted to train hard before I go to Queenstown, because I wanted to enjoy.

“So I was 143. And then I went there, we had lunch, we had a few beers, and we went to the (bungy) place, and I said, ‘What’s the weight limit? They said 155kg.

Taniela Tupou in Queenstown, where he completed a frightening bungy jump.

“And I was like, ‘Oh, I’m sweet, I’m at least 10 kilos lighter. They were like, ‘You have to weigh in anyway. So I (got on the scale) and it’s 150kg.

“In my head, I’m like, ‘Have I put on that much weight in three days?

“I was that close to moving, and I said to him, ‘Can you push me, because I can’t jump, I can’t do it. He said ‘We’re not allowed to push you, you’ve got to do it’. And I was so close to just moving away.

“Everybody had the one rope on, and they’d jump off. I had the full harness on me, double up, and they said ‘There’s no way it’s going to break’.

“I was more worried about (the harness) breaking. But I’m glad I have done it.

“Because I’m not good with heights, I won’t do it again, that’s for sure.”

Tupou is one of the key Waratahs signings in the off-season. Picture: Hugo Carr/NSW Waratahs

Waratahs fans will be hoping to see the best of Tupou, who is Australia’s second-highest paid player on a $1.2 million-a-year deal, behind teammate Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, but has been previously criticised for not playing enough minutes.

That was alleviated when Tupou got through an impressive 56 minutes in his NSW debut in the last-gasp win over the Highlanders in round one.

Tupou then demanded he be allowed to play for NSW A in last weekend’s match against Brumby Runners, a request denied by Tahs coach Dan McKellar, who nevertheless has been pleased with his prop’s endeavour.

“There’s always an expectation for me to perform, it’s not that I don’t want to perform or not that I don’t want to play for long minutes,” Tupou said.

Taniela Tupou on the burst for the Wallabies. Picture: Getty

“It’s all the injuries, not being able to train and not being able to do a pre-season and into a season.

“I try to do what I can. However long the coach wants me to play, whether it’s 30 or 40 (minutes), off the bench.

“This year the main focus was to come in here, get my body right, reset, work hard under Dan McKellar and start building the metrics again. Hopefully by mid-season we’ll be back to what it used to be.”

The Tahs play their second game of the season on Friday night at Allianz Stadium against Fijian Drua, and after claiming the wooden spoon last year they are being tipped to make the finals with their star-studded roster.

“I’m just excited to see what we can do as a team,” Tupou said.

“We’ve always been working really hard, under Dan.

“I like the way that he treated us, just like everybody else here. No superstar, you’re just one of us.

“There’s a lot of talk around us, but I think our main focus is trying to put in a performance that the NSW fans can be proud of.”

Originally published as NSW Waratahs recruit Taniela Tupou’s scary off-season bungy jump gamble