Laulala ready to rock in red
After spending the last three seasons with Cardiff Blues, the Samoan-born former All Black not only joined Munster this summer but was reunited with a coach he has known since his New Zealand U19 days.
Rob Penney brought Laulala, now 30, into the Junior All Black system in 2001 and then recruited the Auckland-schooled centre two years later for his own province down in Canterbury. There they forged a seven-year partnership which garnered the first two of four national NPC titles in a row that brought the coach to Munster’s attention when they began searching for Tony McGahan’s replacement.
Laulala had already decided to swap Cardiff for Thomond Park, attracted, he says, by the family atmosphere at a club whose reputation stretches down to the South Island.
A change in management could easily have forced a rethink but when Penney was named as the next head coach, his former charge was delighted at the prospect of a reunion.
“I have worked with Rob for such a long time,” Laulala said. “Obviously being part of a big club like Munster, I see it very much like what we had in Crusaders and Canterbury. I don’t know if it just a coincidence that Rob was here when I got here, but we are here at the same time. So far, so good, I’m loving it.
“It’s just his positivity in all thoughts. Being with him in Canterbury, we had so much success. We always won the title or were runners-up, we always did well.
“I didn’t know what it was like before, but I do know that Rob will add so much value to this team because he added so much value to my rugby career.”
And quite a career it has been already, Laulala having scored the match-winning try for Crusaders in the 2006 Super 14 final. There are regrets at having won no more than two All Black caps, the last of which came against Ireland in Auckland in the same year but he is grateful for the experience rugby has given him so far and, he believes, the promise of more to come.
“I think it is just the pure legacy that I wanted to be part of,” Laulala said of his move to Munster. “And I think I wanted to have a new start as well.
“When you are in the Southern Hemisphere you are really stuck in your small bubble down there, you don’t really care what happens elsewhere. But Munster have a real strong name down there and they are always compared to the Crusaders too. I played in red down there, so I think it is something about the red jersey that attracts me.”
Having got his first taste of life in a Munster jersey as a substitute last weekend in the pre-season opener at La Rochelle, Laulala will get a starting role at Musgrave Park tomorrow night in the friendly against Bristol. It will also be a chance for Munster supporters to get an early look at the formative midfield partnership with fellow new signing James Downey, who will play inside centre. “We have only had one game and so far I didn’t play with James in La Rochelle. Hopefully in this game we can play together.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
