| Place of birth | Pontypool | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | Harrow School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Bath | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Sione Tuʻipulotu (father) Sisilia Tuipulotu (sister) Carwyn Tuipulotu (cousin) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kepu Tuipulotu is an English rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Bath Rugby and England U20. [1]
Born in Pontypool, [2] he was a member of the London Irish academy, in February 2023 they won the under-18 Premiership Rugby title. [3] Kepu attended Caldicott Prep School before going to Harrow School where he captained the first-XV. [4] [5] [6] He made a try scoring debut for the University of Bath playing BUCS Super Rugby in September 2024. [7]
He joined Bath Rugby for the 2024–25 season. [8] [9] He made his professional debut on 2 November 2024, scoring a hat trick of first half tries in the Premiership Rugby Cup in a 73–0 away win over Ampthill RUFC. [10] [11] He was named among the Bath replacements for their European Rugby Champions Cup match against Benetton Rugby on 15 December 2024. [12] He made his Premiership debut replacing Tom Dunn as Bath lost 35–34 after the clock had gone red against Northampton Saints. [13]
He chose to represent England over Wales, the country of his birth. [14] In April 2023, he made a try-scoring first start playing for England U18s, appearing as a hooker in the under-18s Six Nations. [15] In February 2025, he won man of the match in a 57–13 victory over Scotland U20 during the 2025 U20 Six Nations scoring two tries and assisting another with a grubber kick. [16]
His sister Sisilia Tuipulotu plays for Gloucester-Hartpury in the Premier 15s, and made her international debut for Wales at the 2022 Women's Six Nations. His father, Sione Tuʻipulotu, played for Tonga, winning 29 caps between 1997 and 2008, and played in Wales for Caerphilly RFC (2001–2003) and the Newport Gwent Dragons (2003–2006), while his cousin Carwyn Tuipulotu plays for the Pau. [17]