Days after Taniela Tupou admitted he was left second-guessing whether he should sound out Joe Schmidt for advice as he battles a mid-career crisis, the Wallabies coach has revealed he will meet with the giant prop on Tuesday.

Tupou, 29, last week spoke candidly to The Sydney Morning Herald about his frustrating first season at the Waratahs in 2025.

The 58-Test prop said he was resigned to losing his spot in the Wallabies, saying he was “no chance” to take on the Lions after a crisis of confidence had seen him fall down the pecking order of tight-head props in the country.

“I don’t know what it is, after round one, I was like, maybe I’m slowly getting into it. Then round two, round three, round four, round five, and I’m like, OK, there’s something that’s not right here, and sometimes, I go out there, and I finish the game, and I’m like, ‘f— me, do I know how to play rugby any more, or what?’” Tupou told the Herald.

“It feels like I just don’t know what I’m doing, you know? I’m nervous to do things I used to do well, I used to just be running the ball, and just offloading, and just able to do things.

“But I’m nervous to throw a pass. I don’t know what it is, but I hope I can find a solution, because I want to play well for the Tahs, and I want to hopefully get back in the Wallabies one day.”

The NSW Waratahs get around Taniela Tupou after the prop’s try against the Reds on Friday night in Sydney. (Photo by Robbie Stephenson/Getty Images)

After his raw and frank admission of his year to date, Tupou delivered his most encouraging performance this year against his former side, the Reds, on Friday night.

The tight-head prop entered the fray earlier than anticipated because of a yellow card to Daniel Botha and the cameo seemed to work wonders for Tupou.

He won a penalty and got stuck in before exiting in the seconds before half-time.

Then Tupou scored the Waratahs’ only try of the second half, as he once again reminded people of his raw and unique power close to the line to barge over.

While Tupou was shown a yellow card for a clumsy upright tackle on Dre Pakeho, the tight-head prop’s scrummaging looked more dominant despite referee James Doleman not rewarding him with a crucial late penalty.

Schmidt, who predominantly used Tupou as a starter in 2024, said there were positive signs that the experienced prop was starting to turn the corner against the Reds.

“He’s such a likeable young man and I want the best for Taniela,” Schmidt told reporters at Rugby Australia on Monday.

“Australian rugby wants the best for Taniela because we know what he can do. On Friday night, there were hints that he was coming back into a little bit of form.

“I felt that he was pretty unlucky on a couple of those scrums where he stayed down and through pretty well and didn’t get reward. And got a bit unlucky, you know, reaching and making head contact (and copping a yellow card).

“He didn’t go in in an uncontrolled fashion or reckless fashion. And he actually got himself into position quick and did some of the things that we’re looking for.”

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said he was encouraged by Taniela Tupou’s performance against the Reds. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

After world-renowned scrum coach and Wallabies assistant Mike Cron spent the day with the Waratahs on Monday, Schmidt will return to Daceyville on Tuesday after popping his head in on Monday morning.

Schmidt said the Wallabies coaching staff were in regular dialogue with players of national interest.

“Cronno has a really strong relationship with Taniela,” Schmidt said.

“We kind of share the responsibility of chatting to players.”

Waratahs coach Dan McKellar was perplexed that his side didn’t get more reward for their set-piece work against the Reds, commenting that his hands were tied and he couldn’t hit out at the officials because they were “protected species”.

But the Waratahs boss, who worked with Tupou at the Wallabies in 2021 and 2022, told reporters in his post match press conference that he was encouraged by the prop’s efforts against the Reds and thought he could still play a big role against the Lions later this year.

“I thought he scrummaged exceptionally well but unfortunately didn’t get rewarded for it,” said McKellar, who was also pleased to read of Tupou’s frank admission.

“Some story wasn’t it? Incredible reflection and honesty from Nella. But I think if he plays like he did… he’ll take confidence off the back of it.

“Playing against the British and Irish Lions, scrum time’s going to be important.

“So that’s by far his best performance. He’s not a (Wallabies) selector, thankfully. I’m sure Joe will make that decision for him with the coaches but encouraging signs. He’s happy, he’s just the normal Nella, you know, gregarious and full of beans around the group.

“He’s just been frustrated. He’s thinking about a lot of things and (the key is) probably not thinking, just simplify it and dumb it down.

“And I’ve had multiple conversations with him and we’re just all working hard to try and find a solution. But I think there was some pleasing signs.”

Tupou, who is on a mega $1.2 million deal, is off-contract at season’s end and has interest from multiple teams in England and France.

Unless Tupou’s form drastically improves over the coming months, the expectation is he won’t be offered a deal anywhere near his current one.