Exciting young Welsh forward Sisilia Tuipulotu has been backed to become world-class by her Wales coach after converting to a tight-head prop.
Cousin to Wales and Lions No. 8 Taulupe Faletau, 19-year-old Tuipulotu came off the bench to feature in the second row in her previous two Wales caps.
But the Gloucester-Hartpury forward and Wales coaches have been working hard this summer to convert her to the front row. She is 5ft 9in and weighs 17st 5lb.
Fans first got a glimpse of Tuipulotu in this new position when she came off the bench for Wales against Canada in a Women's Rugby World Cup warm-up.
"We had good discussions with Sisilia of where we see her," Wales boss Ioan Cunningham told BBC Sport.
"If you look at all her skills sets, she is super strong, she is physical and once she nails the technical side of the scrum she is going to be impressive… we are confident that when she gets there, because she is still very young, she is going to be the best in the world."
As for cousin Faletau, he has been a source of advice and tips since Sisilia's rugby journey began.
"When I first started, Toby got in contact to tell me a few tips, especially when I got the call-up last Six Nations [in 2021, as a development player], just to keep working hard and little things to make my game better.
"I’m the type of person that if I do something wrong, especially in training, it’ll just stay in my head and it’ll just lead to me making more mistakes. But one of Toby's tips was to just forget about what I’ve done wrong. So if I knock the ball on, just forget about it and move on to the next thing because it’ll just drag you down if you think about it. You need to lift yourself up and know the next move is coming, just keep going."
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