Tongan Thor selected for Wallabies European tour

Taniela Tupou - The Tongan Thor - scores a try while playing for Auckland's Sacred Heart 1st XV.

Tupou, aka the Tongan Thor, has been selected for the Wallabies European spring tour, but he can't play yet.

The former New Zealand schoolboy rugby star was one of four young players picked by the Wallabies as development players for their coming European spring tour.

The giant prop, now 20, rose to fame in 2014 for his running and try-scoring deeds with the Sacred Heart College first XV in Auckland.

Former Auckland schoolboy Taniela Tupou, has been picked as a Wallabies development player.

Tupou is 12 months away from completing his three-year residency requirement under World Rugby regulations, so won't be eligible to play for Australia.

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The other new players are the New South Wales duo Jack Dempsey and Andrew Kellaway, and Tupou's Queensland team-mate Izaia Perese.

Perese, Dempsey and Kellaway are a chance to play in Australia's tour game against the French Barbarians in Bordeaux on November 24, but not Tupou.

The emerging stars have been selected to travel with the Australian squad on their five-test European tour after impressing in the recent National Rugby Championship.

They will train with the train with the Wallabies squad as an introduction to test rugby.

Loose forward Dempsey has 10 caps for NSW after making his Super Rugby debut last year, while fullback Kellaway played seven games in 2016.

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Perese, an outside back, is yet to play Super Rugby.

 - AAP

Source: Tongan Thor selected for Wallabies European tour