Laulala ready to rock in red

He may be thousands of miles from home but for Casey Laulala, joining Munster this season represents a career turning full circle, right down to the red jersey.

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.