Scotland captain raises concerns over rugby calendar on eve of Nations Championship

The Scotland captain has questioned how sustainable the current calendar is as the sport’s administrators try to increase the number of high profile games.

The Nations Championship, which kicks off on Saturday, replaces traditional summer tours but it means international teams play only one match at a particular location before jetting off for their second game.

Scotland will open their campaign against Argentina in Cordoba and then fly 5,500 miles to Pretoria to face South Africa next week before returning home to host Fiji at Murrayfield.

How sustainable is it?

The new tournament comes at the end of a long domestic campaign which, for most of the Scotland players, stretched into June. Many of those in Gregor Townsend’s squad were also involved in last summer’s British and Irish Lions tour of Australia.

With the Rugby World Cup due to be held in Australia next year at the end of another club season there is little opportunity for rest and recovery and Tuipulotu believes his concerns are shared by a number of players in Europe.

“There's a lot to be said about the amount of rugby going on,” said the Scotland skipper, who will lead the team against Argentina on Saturday. “I'm not too sure I agree with the amount of rugby going on and how sustainable it really is.

“That's just my honest truth as a player. I'm sure worldwide a lot of players, particularly the ones playing in Europe, will agree with me. But at the moment, that's our job and that's what the calendar says. And until something's done about it that's just how it goes.”

Scotland go into the opening game without Finn Russell who is still recovering from a calf injury which caused him to miss the end of the English domestic season with his club, Bath. Tom Jordan of Bristol Bears will line up at 10 for Scotland whose 36-man squad contains 19 players from Glasgow Warriors, including Tuipulotu, whose season continued until June 4.

“There's a lot of boys that have played a lot of rugby,” said Tuipulotu. “I even think of guys like Tom Jordan. I know he's only come into the international set-up lately, but he played a lot of rugby when I was at Glasgow with him. He stayed healthy at Bristol. You guys like Finn, who played a lot in the Prem. Ben White, who is obviously coming off the summer tour, played a lot for Toulon.

‘None of us is going to say no’

“So it's not just myself who's played a lot of rugby. There's a lot of us here that have played a lot of rugby and that's the way the calendar sits. And when we get called upon to play for Scotland, none of us is going to say no.”

Tuipulotu stressed that he felt honoured and privileged to represent his country despite misgivings over the amount of games the modern player is required to play.

“Playing for Scotland is my pride and joy and captaining Scotland is my pride and joy,” he said. “And what we've built here over the last, particularly over the last 12-18 months makes me so proud. And I don't feel as happy playing sport ever as I do playing for Scotland and playing with this group.”