Rugby: Chiefs' No 15 steps into hero's shoes

Mils Muliaina. Photo / Christine Cornege

Mils Muliaina has a stalker and he'll be playing in his No 15 jersey tomorrow night.

"I don't tell Mils, but I'm always watching him and I'll run out there and try to imitate him. He's definitely someone I look up to," said Tim Nanai-Williams before the Chiefs' clash with the Hurricanes in Wellington.

Muliaina has been ruled out for a month after Chiefs doctor Zig Khouri confirmed he had fractured his first and second lumbar vertebrae. It's a big loss for the Chiefs, but another opportunity for Counties wunderkind Nanai-Williams to slot into his favourite spot.

He does not have to look far for guidance.

"[Muliaina's] the best fullback in the world so there's no one better I can learn from.

"When he's at training I'll ask him to watch me, especially when we're working on defence. I'll talk to him about coming into the line, how he goes about it and try to run in his footsteps," said Nanai-Williams.

"When someone gets injured and you know you're the next person, you normally can't help saying 'yes, yes, yes'. But this is a bit different. My mentor is out and I'm gutted for him, even if it's a gain for me."

Coach Ian Foster has enjoyed the luxury of naming a largely unchanged team, having tasted victory for the first time this season against the Rebels last week.

Nanai-Williams is the only change to the starting 15, with Liam Messam taking the skipper's armband.

"We are confident in the leadership of the team with our core group going well," said Foster.

Loose forward Fritz Lee, who picked up a knee injury in his Super rugby debut in the round-one defeat to the Brumbies, makes his return on the bench.

The Hurricanes have had a three-week break with a bye last weekend and their round-two match against the Crusaders cancelled because of the February 22 earthquake.

Coach Mark Hammett has named Jayden Hayward to start at second five-eighths while Charlie Ngatai has been named on the bench.

Fullback Cory Jane said it was impossible to tell whether the layoff was a good or bad thing at this stage of the season, though they had spent a lot of the past two weeks "analysing the Chiefs".

Their last memory of playing was not a good one, going down to the Highlanders in the season opener.

The Chiefs' start was just as unsettling, though life has been a lot brighter this week.

"There's a good buzz," Nanai-Williams said. "When you're coming off two losses, it gets harder to keep getting up but this win has given us confidence and something to build on."

HURRICANES v CHIEFS
Westpac Stadium, 7.35pm tomorrow

HURRICANES
Cory Jane
Julian Savea
Conrad Smith
Jayden Hayward
Andre Taylor
Aaron Cruden
Chris Eaton
Victor Vito
Serge Lilo
Jack Lam
Jason Eaton
James Broadhurst
Neemia Tialata
Andrew Hore (c)
John Schwalger
Reserves: Dane Coles, Anthony Perenise, Mark Reddish, Faifili Levave, Tyson Keats, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Charlie Ngatai.

CHIEFS
Tim Nanai-Williams
Lelia Masaga
Dwayne Sweeney
Tana Umaga
Sitiveni Sivivatu
Stephen Donald
Brendon Leonard
Liam Messam (c)
Tanerau Latimer
Scott Waldrom
Isaac Ross
Craig Clarke
Nathan White
Aled de Malmanche
Ben May
Reserves: Hika Elliot, Sona Taumalolo, Romana Graham, Fritz Lee, Taniela Moa, Mike Delany, Jackson Willison.