Rus Tuima: Exeter's ambitious forward inspired to follow sister into England team

Lagi Tuima (left) has won 11 caps for England while her younger brother Rus has played for England's Under-20 side

Exeter forward Rus Tuima says his elder sister Lagi's England experience is inspiring his own rugby career.

The back-row, 21, has played four times for the Chiefs this season

His 23-year-old sister, who is a centre, has featured in all three of England's Test wins this autumn in matches against Canada and New Zealand.

"To see how quickly she shot into the England set up and her first cap for England was really inspiring for me," he told BBC Sport.

"I looked at her running onto the pitch and was just thinking to myself 'wow that's something I'd like to do in the future'.

"Me and my sister are quite competitive when it comes to absolutely anything. We really just challenge each other to be better when it comes to rugby and everything else actually."

The former England's under-20 forward is still trying to establish a regular place in Exeter's first team, having started the opening two Premiership matches of the season when the Chiefs were hit by injuries and international players being forced to rest.

He was part of a young Exeter team that acquitted themselves well in a bonus-point loss to a strong Bristol side in the Premiership Cup last week and will get another chance to impress the club's hierarchy on Saturday when they face Gloucester in the same competition.

And he says that Lagi, who plays her club rugby at Harlequins and is a centrally-contracted England player, is always available to give him advice:

Rus (top row, right) was there with the rest of his family when Lagi made her England debut against Canada in November 2017

"She's really cool to have around and somebody that if I need advice or someone to talk to, she's always there.

"A lot of the time it's family time, switch off time, time to catch up and see what's new - and also a chance to get sibling rivalry out of the way and get at each other at anything possible," he adds with a smile.

"Christmas time is chess, we're both awful, but we see who can win."

The Fijian-born forward hopes he can have more chances in the Premiership and emulate the likes of Richard Capsick who have come up through the Chiefs ranks and are now regulars on matchdays.

"For me it's just one massive learning experience trying to take on as much as possible," he said.

"Starting those few games at the start of the season was really like a step in the right direction for me and I really enjoyed it.

"My lungs had to keep up with me as I wasn't too used to the game, but for me it was a massive learning curve and hopefully more opportunities come along again this season."