Lomu helped light All Blacks fuse
By MARC HINTON in Marseille - Stuff.co.nz
JOB WELL DONE: Jonah Lomu (right) congratulates Conrad Smith in the dressing room after the All Blacks beat France in Marseille.
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Mils Muliana has paid tribute to the part played by All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu in lighting the fuse on one of the standout performances of his long test career.
Muliaina, the veteran Waikato and Chiefs fullback, had a milestone match at the Stade Velodrome yesterday as the All Blacks brought the curtain down on their test year in style, running in five tries en route to a 39-12 pasting of the French.
In a test that saw the veteran No 15 edge past Justin Marshall as the second most capped All Black of all time with 82 tests, Muliaina thrived in what turned into a breakout performance.
He scored one try, set up splendidly by his Waikato team-mate Sitiveni Sivivatu, and was one of the jewels in a sparkling All Black backline display that went a long way to putting the smile back on what had become a fairly grim visage of test rugby.
Muliaina, who will delay his entry into next year's Super 14 as he extends his off-season break a little, didn't mind admitting that Lomu, the great All Black wing who's now plying his trade in the third division for the ambitious Marseille-Vitrolles club, had been just what he needed to shake off the tiredness and get up for a season-defining clash.
"We had the big man come in on Thursday. That was awesome to see a guy like that talk to us about where he's at.
"We were really inspired about all the things he said.
"In the changing-room you could just see it in the guys' eyes - we wanted to go out there, play positively and do it for each other. Thankfully we did that."
Asked what Lomu had said that proved so uplifting, Muliaina revealed a little of the special nature of All Black rugby.
"He spoke a lot about still wanting to be in the black jersey, and that he still dreams about it today. Certainly for an older guy like me, that just inspires you still being in the environment and wanting to play your best.
"He lost that through sickness. You just never know what's around the corner, and that in itself is inspiring."
Star five-eighths Dan Carter, who conducted a symphony of backline attacks with a virtuoso display, called the All Black performance a benchmark and said after a frustrating past few weeks it had been satisfying to produce such a complete showing.
"I just hope a lot of this team step up in the Super 14 and put their hands up again for test selection, because what we've achieved the last five or six weeks has been outstanding. It was a good way to finish a tough and trying season."
Otago lock Tom Donnelly revealed that the All Black intent from the outset had been to take the initiative from under the French noses.
"All week we had a bit of an attitude of we're going to attack these guys. They kept talking about how they were going to be physical, but our approach was we'll attack them first and see how it goes."
And star wing Cory Jane summed up the feeling in the All Blacks camp when he said: "We knew it was going to be tough, and knew we had to start well. We managed to get a couple of tries early which kind of silenced the crowd.
"Everything seemed to start going well - if we threw a pass someone would catch it and find another hole. We managed to put few tries on the board and finish the test season on a high note."
No 8 Kieran Read, who produced the best performance of his short test career, also paid tribute to the inspiration served up by skipper Richie McCaw, named afterwards as the IRB's player of the year for the second time.
"It's awesome getting to rub shoulders with him every week," said Read. "All you have to do is follow him out on the pitch. He a great player and playing with him lifts your own game because you don't want to be left behind."
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To frank #2 I was in Safferland for RWC95 and before the semi final against the Poms, our tour guide (Kevin Barry the 2nd of 3 generations of All Blacks) and his wife, both said they thought England would win. Final score was 40 heaps to 20 something but you're right it was all down to Jonah.
In RWC 1999 he did the same against the Poms in pool play, the Melbourne test against Aussie with his last second try. The fact is there's no other player that's ever had the crowd on their feet like Big Jonah.
Score! Score! Jonah! Jonah scores all day! There's no stopping Jonah, So get out of his way!!!!
Good on him. He seems in a much better space at the moment. His pre-match interview was probably one of the best I've seen from him and seemed quite settled and at peace with himself. Not full of 'umms' and 'ahhs' or cliches, just straight to the point.
I thought at the time he had a bit of an edge to him, but thought perhaps it was just nerves knowing what the ABs would up against. But by the sounds of it he was in this Test up to his eyeballs. He was as fired up and as on edge as the players were.
Jona Lomu is so last century!!!!!!
Lomu is a legend and ambassador for the game. This tour sealed a number of players into the first XV, including Jane, Donnelly, and Reid. A class act by all three.
Lomu may get criticised like no other NZ athlete has before, but you have to give it to him: During the BIG games, he played out of his skin. If every AB player did this, they would win the World Cup.
Lomu - Legend.
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Jonah is a legend!!! No other player in the world made the crowd rise everytime he got the ball. To have both him and Christian Cullen playing together at the same time was just amazing to watch. Jonah is loyal to the Black jersey and despite his many doubters has never had a bad word to say and always had a positive attitude.
One of our best ever