All Blacks: Muliaina's push to break through

Mils Muliaina says he would do anything to ensure the All Blacks enjoy World Cup success. Photo / Getty Images

Mils Muliaina was the All Black fullback in his first World Cup, centre for much of his second - and this time?

He has been a high-class contributor in most of his 98 tests, but some of his sting has levelled out this season and the multi-talented Israel Dagg is challenging him hard for selection in the No 15 jersey.

That decision, and the other back-three arrangements, will be the most keenly viewed when the selectors unveil their side to play Tonga in Friday's start to the seventh edition of the World Cup.

The 31-year-old Muliaina admitted yesterday that his mind had wandered at times thinking about his final year with the All Blacks and his future rugby life in Japan.

But, with the campaign under way, he said he was on track and in singular focus about his final World Cup.

He said he was not driven by any fears because he was in the squad and would do anything to ensure World Cup success.

"But I think there are a lot of emotions which go through you when you have been in the environment for so long," he said.

After nine years with the All Blacks he was content with his decision to leave. Every now and then, that reality filtered into his consciousness, he said.

"Whether I am out there as a starting player, I think my goal is to make sure this team is really successful and that may be from sitting on the bench or sitting in the stands," he said.

Was he feeling the pressure coming from Dagg?

There was pressure all the time in the All Black environment, Muliaina said, and that was part of the reason for their success.

"You can never be complacent, you have to be at your absolute best, not just on the day but leading up to the games," Muliaina said.

"So when you step over that white line, your training standards have to be right up there. There is massive competition for spots in that area and everyone wants to put their hand up and that is a great thing to have in the environment."

As the All Blacks began their official press conferences for the tournament yesterday, they sent three senior men - Muliaina, Daniel Carter and Ali Williams - to start interaction with the fourth estate.

They had all been moved by the responses they encountered when the squad visited small towns throughout the country last Friday. They felt the rugby pulse of the nation and saw the nationwide emotion behind their campaign.

Williams spoke about the different aspects of a knockout tournament, but also noted the All Blacks had to keep to the rituals and methods that they understood.

"In terms of a game, it is still one ball, 30 guys and a ref," he said.

There were many other external factors which would appear during such an event, Williams said, but it was a matter of players dealing with those issues.

Carter had felt the pressure and expectation from people in New Zealand since his test debut nine years ago and that was another reason why the All Blacks had such a successful history. Staging the World Cup in New Zealand added another dimension to that anticipation, he acknowledged.

If anything, though, that had the players more excited than concerned, Carter said. Each squad member had his goals and as long as they concentrated on that, that would get them through all the other expectation from the public and media which accompanied such an event.

Muliaina said there were many lessons to learn from the Port Elizabeth and Brisbane defeats, but there were also a number in the squad who had not been to a previous World Cup, so there were many new ideas to work through.

In the next few days, said Carter, the coaches would debrief the side on the loss in Brisbane.

The All Blacks had wanted to play a tighter strategy in that Tri-Nations decider, but their high error rate meant they could not implement it early enough or for an extended period.