Mils Muliaina reveals the ‘great opportunity’ which Greatest Rivalry series presents to the All Blacks ahead of World Cup
The All Blacks and Springboks in action and ex-New Zealand full-back Mils Muliaina (inset).
Mils Muliaina feels that the All Blacks’ upcoming tour to South Africa is a “great opportunity” for them to develop Test players ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand will head out to South Africa in early August with the All Blacks taking on all four of the United Rugby Championship (URC) sides ahead of three clashes with the Springboks in Johannesburg (twice) and Cape Town, before Baltimore hosts the fourth and final Test on September 12.
The All Blacks and Springboks are the most successful nations in the history of Test rugby with the men in black having a 76% winning record and the Boks are second best with 64%.
Springboks have most Rugby World Cup titles
However, South Africa have won the most Rugby World Cup titles (four) while New Zealand are next best with three triumphs at the global showpiece.
The Boks and All Blacks have been battling it out at international level since 1921 when South Africa drew a Test series in New Zealand. Since then, the arch rivals have faced each other in 12 series, with New Zealand and South Africa hosting six of those apiece.
The Springboks clinched their only series victory on New Zealand soil in 1937, while the All Blacks had to wait until 1996 to claim that momentous achievement in South Africa.
It is therefore no surprise that the upcoming clashes between the arch rivals has been dubbed as the “Greatest Rivalry” series.
And although there is plenty of excitement and interest ahead of the matches between the teams, Muliaina feels that beating the Springboks in their upcoming Test series, while important, should not be the All Blacks’ only goal when they visit South Africa.
The 45-year-old believes a tour to South Africa also offers the All Blacks the chance to blood several of their up-and-coming players in the international arena, particularly ahead of next year’s World Cup in Australia.
And with the first choice All Blacks team’s Tests against the Springboks sure to garner plenty of attention, Muliaina, who represented his country in 100 Tests, sees the clashes against the URC teams as the ideal time for his country’s second stringers to develop as Test match players.
“If we come away and we win the Test matches, which I think it’s just going to be, it’s going to be huge,” he told the DSPN podcast. “It will get a lot of that sort of pressure off the back of the All Black environment.
“But I look at it somewhat a little bit different. It is also time during the midweek games, as in those guys playing in the other team to really develop that.
‘A really great opportunity leading into Rugby World Cup’
“It’s a really great opportunity leading into Rugby World Cup, because as we’ve seen, we have got a lot of talent when it comes to the Rugby World Cup.
“You are going to have a bolter. So, I’d love to see a couple of them in the Rugby World Cup but now is a really good time for them to actually really work on those guys that aren’t sort of Test match ready yet.”
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With South African rugby currently on an all-time high since rugby turned professional, Muliaina believes it’s the best place for any aspiring Test player to improve at that level.
“You’re not going to get any better than going to South Africa and playing in their hostile environment under Test match sort of conditions, regardless of whether it is a Test match or not, those other players,” he explained.
“So there’s two things. We want to win. Absolutely, we do want to win, and it’s going to be huge. And the other side of that is really bringing those next guys through.
“Through a little bit of experience in the midweek games.”