Junior Malili Muliaina (born 31 July 1980), better known as
Mils Muliaina, is a
rugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player. He plays for the Chiefs in Super Rugby and
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
at international level. He was born in Salesi,
SamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, then moved with his family to
InvercargillInvercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
, New Zealand, at the age of two. With 33 tries in 100 tests for the
All BlacksThe New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
, Muliaina appears on the list of the
highest try scorers in rugby union test history. In the 2011 World Cup Quarter-Final match against Argentina, Muliaina became the second All Black to reach 100 caps.
Early career
Starring in Southland age group representative teams he first attended Cargill High School then Southland Boys' High School, where he proved proficient enough at rugby to be offered a scholarship to Kelston Boys' High School in
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, in 1998. Subsequently, Muliaina played for the NZ Secondary Schools XV, the team winning that year's world championship. He repeated this the following year with the world champion Under 19 side, and in 2000 and 2001 was part of the world champion Under 21 (NZ Colt) teams of those years.
Professional career and the All Blacks
Muliaina joined the Auckland Blues in 2001 and was a part of the Super 12 title winning team for the Blues in 2003. Muliaina's test debut for the All Blacks was against England on June 14, 2003 at the
Westpac StadiumWestpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape and silver coloured external walls, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin to the locals and other New Zealanders...
in
WellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
. He was subsequently part of the All Black squad at the
2003 Rugby World CupThe 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
. In 2004, he was the only player to be selected for every test played by the All Blacks. Muliaina has also played in 11 tournaments for the
sevensThe New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:...
team, including winning a
Commonwealth GamesThe Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
gold medal in 2002 in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Though he has expressed a preference for playing as an outside centre, Muliaina generally plays at fullback, a position in which he is now considered to be one of the best in the world. In 2006 he joined the Chiefs, with whom he brought up his 100th Super Rugby cap in 2011. On the 9th of October 2011 during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Muliaina played his 100th game for the
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
All BlacksThe New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
after starting at
fullbackFullback or Full back may refer to:* a position in various football games, including:** Full back , in association football , a defender playing in a wide position...
against Argentina. During the game Muliaina was forced from the field at half time due to him injuring his shoulder. This was later revealed to have been fractured, meaning he was dropped from the New Zealand World Cup squad. Muliaina retired from the All Blacks squad the following day on the 10th of October 2011 after achieving his 100th Test cap. He now plays for a club-team in
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
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