Pat Lam: ‘This is Connacht’s first All Black about to play at the Sportsground’

Connacht fans will finally get to see new signing Mils Muliaina in action tomorrow night with Pat Lam announcing today that the former All Black centurion will line out at fullback for the visit of Zebre to the Sportsground.

The province's Head Coach has been trying to keep a lid on expectations, as fans await the debut of the 34-year-old who has 33 international tries and a World Cup medal packed within his career reel.

“We know there is a lot of anticipation around Mils’ debut,” explained Lam. “This is Connacht’s first All Black about to play at the Sportsground so it’s obviously very exciting for us and our supporters.

“While the expectation is high, we have to keep in mind that this will be his first game of rugby since March after returning from a long term injury.

“But Mils is a true professional and has shown his experience during rehab, training and off the field. He is gunning to get out there to perform for the team.”

New signings

Having suffered an elbow injury picked up earlier this season, Muliaina has been targeting this fixture for his return since late September, with Lam insisting throughout the process that the veteran would not be rushed back.

Centre Bundee Aki will make also make his home debut tomorrow, while former Auckland Blues front row forward Tom McCartney who linked up with Connacht from New Zealand at the start of the month is available on the bench, as is on-loan scrum half John Cooney.

Commenting on the much changed team selection from the team’s away defeat to the Ospreys in the last round of the PRO12, Lam said:

“It’s fantastic to have our three new signings Mils, Bundee and Tom available for this game as we had planned. They have all settled in very well, getting to know their team mates and the new systems and structures.

“All three are really looking forward to getting out on the field tomorrow night in front of our home fans for the first time.

“Miah (Nikora) gets his first start this season at outhalf after working extremely hard to come back from injury and has impressed us in training. It is a much changed back line from last time but one that we’re excited about. It’s great to have that extra depth in the squad to be able to make those changes.

A great buzz about the place

“This week is huge for us. Games with Zebre have always been particularly tight as they are a proud team with a number of very experienced players. We are fully aware that we cannot afford to take our foot off the pedal at any time tomorrow night.

“We haven’t had a game at home in nearly five weeks so there’s a great buzz about the place and we’re so looking forward to playing in front of a packed out Sportsground. We have three back-to-back home games coming up and protecting our unbeaten home record is very important to us.”