Muliaina set for All Blacks’ Croker clash

MILS MULIAINA will go straight into New Zealand’s test team against Ireland next Saturday as the All Blacks look to stiffen their selections for the most difficult tests of the tour.

Muliaina was given permission to stay with his wife and newborn baby when the team departed for the Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup test but arrived in London yesterday, linking up with his teammates as they transited en route to Dublin.

Graham Henry gambled that his second string selection would be too strong for Scotland and that assessment proved correct as a side with 12 changes from the team which clawed past the Wallabies in Hong Kong, saw off Scotland 32-6 on Saturday at Murrayfield. The emphatic scoreline did not indicate the pressure the Scots inflicted for large chunks of the test, more the All Blacks’ tenacious defence and their conversion of limited chances.