By DAVID LEGGAT
Fullback/wing/centre
Age: 23
Height: 1.83m
Weight: 84kg
NPC team: Auckland
Super 12: Blues
Super 12 games: 28
Test debut: 2003
Test caps: 7
Versatility has several faces in the All Blacks squad.
Props Dave Hewett and Kees Meeuws can swap sides with reasonable facility; Rodney So'oialo and Jerry Collins are
not solely chained to the No 8 job; Aaron Mauger can wear No 10 and No 12 and look just as comfortable; Doug Howlett has been tried with mixed success at fullback; but Muliaina can claim to be able to slot into three roles: wing, centre and his present job, fullback.
It was a role he initially got at least in part due to Leon MacDonald's misfortune with concussions.
After MacDonald suffered a blow in the Super 12 final the selectors turned to Muliaina for the opening test of the year against England at Wellington.
He kept his place for the next six tests, mixing sound performances with some less convincing, particularly when the ball was in the air. But he has been given first dibs on the cup job against the Italians tomorrow, but with MacDonald on hand the onus will be on the Samoa-born former national sevens and under-19 representative to prove he is the man for the job.
Muliaina's career has not been entirely a bed of roses and a late-night incident at a Parnell bar last year, when he was ejected for urinating on the floor, cost him a two-match ban for Auckland and plenty of embarrassment.
An early-morning incident outside an Auckland nightclub after the Super 12 final win over the Crusaders this year did not help the image.
A powerful runner, strong from broken play, Muliaina is one player who probably still needs to justify the selectors' faith before the tournament hits the business end next month.
