He was the fourth celebrity to be unmasked on The Masked Singer Australia, keeping his identity well-hidden beneath the Piñata costume as the judges guessed everyone from Elon Musk to Jamie Dornan.
In the end, it was Lote Tuqiri: rugby legend and, as it turns out, a spectacular performer.
“You would love to go further, but the fact that I’ve gotten out after an accomplished singer like Ben Lee, I’m pretty happy with that,” Lote tells WHO of his dazzling turn on the show.
“I reckon everyone sounds pretty good singing in the shower, right? And in my playing days we used to sing on the team bus, so I thought I was okay,” he reveals of his voice. “Hopefully I could sing. I made it to episode four, so I can’t have been too bad.”
WATCH: Lote Tuqiri is unmasked on The Masked Singer
He may be a rugby legend – playing for the likes of the Wallabies, Waratahs and Brisbane Broncos over his decades-long career – but Lote admits he still found The Masked Singer daunting.
“It was a lot of fun, but [being eliminated] was a relief at the same time,” he reveals. “The choreography that went along with the music really stressed me out, I had a lot of anxiety around it.”
Wanting to perform to the best of his abilities, Lote reveals he worked hard to pull the choreography and singing advice from the show’s coaches together.
“I was really stressed!” he says. “I started off with that routine for my last performance, Party Rock Anthem, and I came out from the back and went up around, went through a tunnel, all the while trying to keep my steps right for the cameras and the choreography. So that was an achievement in itself, just getting that whole thing right.”
“I think I got about 90% right, so it was pretty cool. I pat myself on the back for getting that right because I’ve never done anything like that in my life – I probably don’t plan to do it any more, but it was pretty cool to get out there.”
Though he had anxiety around his performances, Lote says it was still “amazing” to appear on the show.
“I actually did really enjoy the experience, even though there was a lot of fear and trepidation around it,” he says.
Now that the rugby legend has been unmasked, he’s excited to share the experience with his kids. Dad to Samson, Emosi and Max, Lote followed in the footsteps of other contestants and kept his role on the show a secret from his family.
“I didn’t tell them until yesterday because you know how kids talk – you just don’t know who they’re going to tell!” Lote says, revealing he’d simply told them he was going away for “work” during filming.
“I love my kids, but you just don’t know what they’re going to say, so I had to keep it under wraps from them until last night and they were surprised and hopefully proud, I think they are proud.”
Lote admits his older kids, Samson and Emosi, weren’t too fazed by the reveal, but his youngest was thrilled.
“Dad’s still cool for a six-year-old, my youngest, he was pretty happy about the piñata,” the star says. “I’ve got a couple teenagers now as well, they’re okay but I think they were more worried about impact on them – but I think I’m still in the good books.”
Along with his family, Lote’s friends and former teammates are also keen to finally be in the loop. Mat Rogers, Beau Ryan and Matt Giteau were among those to excitedly comment on the reveal last night – with Lote confirming he’d kept all his pals in the dark.
“I had a couple of messages [asking if I was the piñata] and I was like… nah mate, no chance! [laughs] But once the reveal had come last night, everyone was absolutely gobsmacked,” he says.
“I had a few mates who were watching and said they nearly fell of their chairs. So, it’s been pretty cool, with people being really positive about that experience for me.”
Unable to talk to the other contestants during filming, Lote also admits he’s excited to watch the rest of the show alongside other Masked Singer superfans.
“You try to picture and see who’s this, who’s that, but no one was allowed to talk,” Lote reveals. “So you’re trying to pick how people are walking, how tall they are, different costumes, but no luck. I’m tuning in over the next couple of weeks to see who everyone is and see what comes along with the unmasking.”
Keen to try your hand at detective work? See all the clues for The Masked Singer here.
The Masked Singer Australia airs Sunday to Tuesday, 7:30pm on 10.
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