Lomu helped light All Blacks fuse

BY MARC HINTON IN MARSEILLE

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."

- © Fairfax NZ News