Muliaina at the back for Waikato
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:08
Mils Muliaina will join a handful of his All Black teammates this weekend when the Mooloos face Hawke's Bay in their Air New Zealand Cup (NZ) quarterfinal, marking his first provincial appearance since 2006.
It will also be the Waikato team's third week of 'knock-out' rugby this Sunday, as Mooloo coach Tony Hanks gears his side up for an away challenge against the confident Magpies on Sunday.
"We're looking forward to this match and for us it is another knock-out game of rugby," said Waikato head coach Tony Hanks.
"We know we are playing a Hawke's Bay team that is full of confidence, but our confidence has also grown over the past month by winning four out of our last six matches."
Lock Toby Lynn will captain the Waikato side at the weekend, with regular captain Liam Messam not considered due to a hamstring injury.
"With the injury to Liam, Toby was the obvious choice for this game having led this team in the preseason and other times when Liam has had to leave the field.
"Toby plays a big part of our leadership on the field, but he won't be on his own on Sunday.
"He will have the support from other senior players like Aled de Malmanche and Callum Bruce who have been there for the full campaign," he said.
In the backs, Waikato welcomes back All Black Mils Muliaina who will start at fullback, combining with wings Sosene Anesi and Sitiveni Sivivatu. The midfield sees youngster Jackson Willison start at inside centre with Richard Kahui at No.13.
Hastings-born Callum Bruce will start in the No.10 jersey for the Mooloos, while Stephen Donald was not considered due to a strained rib cartilage in last Thursday's match against Taranaki.
"Our All Blacks will be better for the game last week and they already look more settled with the team game plan. Mils is obviously a quality player and he has spent time with our team over the past few weeks," he said.
"I'm sure he is keen to make an impact in his first provincial appearance since Waikato's victory in the inaugural Air NZ Cup final in 2006."
Hanks says while a lot has been talked about the All Blacks returning, his team's younger players certainly "did it tough" at the start of the campaign and to their credit kept improving as the campaign progressed.
"Making it into sixth place and qualifying for the quarterfinals round was a good achievement. Finally we can put those first four games of the season to bed and forget about them and concentrate fully on knock-out rugby," added Hanks.
Waikato: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Sosene Anesi, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 David Bason, 8 Sione Lauaki, 7 Tom Harding, 6 Faifili Levave, 5 Romana Graham, 4 Toby Lynn (captain), 3 Aled de Malmanche, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Hikairo Forbes.
Replacements: 16
Vern Kamo, 17 Toby Smith, 18 Kent Fife, 19 Matt Blain, 20 Malcolm Barnes, 21 Dwayne Sweeney, 22 Tim Mikkelson.
Date: Sunday, October 12:
Venue: McLean Park, Napier
Kick-off: 14.35 (02.35 GMT)
Referee: Vinny Munro
Touch judges: Chris Pollock, Brent Murray
TMO: Josh Noonan
