Three months after candidly claiming he didn't deserve to feature against the British and Irish Lions, Tupou repaid Joe Schmidt's faith in him with one of the mightiest displays in a gold jumper.
While back-rower Tom Hooper was a deserving man of the match, the powerhouse prop was also immense in Australia's stirring 22-12 victory over the British and Irish Lions in Sydney on Saturday night.
Destructive at scrum time, a menace in the loose and generally inspirational during a game-changing 60-minute shift, Tupou conceded he feared during a turbulent Super Rugby Pacific season with the NSW Waratahs that he may never play for the Wallabies again.
But an emotional Tupou, wrapping his big arms around a Sydney journalist and thanking the scribe for his support during the dark times was the most poignant moment inside the Accor Stadium walls post match.
"It's always an honour to be named in the Wallabies, to represent Australia. I was quite emotional when I sang the anthem," the 29-year-old said.
"And as you get older, these opportunities mean a lot more to you and you tend to think when you get older, 'Oh man, one of these games could be the last'.
"So I was just soaking in the environment, the crowd and everything. It was it was pretty cool to be part of it. So delighted we won the game."
Australian rugby's highest-paid forward is heading to Racing 92 in France this year but hasn't given up on featuring at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, now that he's resurrected his international career.
"I always make myself available for the Wallabies, whether I'm in France or wherever I am," Tupou said.
"So if they need me, I'll 100 per cent put my hands up.
"So hopefully this isn't the last time. Hopefully there's more to come."
The gentle giant said the opportunity to play against the Lions, especially after his tumultuous season, was not lost on him.
"I'm glad I'm part of this one and part of a win against the Lions. There's a lot of Wallabies legends who don't get a chance to play against the Lions," Tupou said.
"We needed this win. We've been through a lot this week and the last few weeks and it's good to be out there playing footy because for me I only played the (one) game."
"I need to keep playing footy so this helps me. Hopefully I keep playing and who knows what happened in TRC, so fingers crossed."
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