Sharks winger comes full circle for Kiwis debut after Origin eligibility fiasco
Ronaldo Mulitalo describes the last year of his life as a “wild ride”.
And anybody who has followed the Cronulla winger’s career will know very little has been straightforward.
“We’re finally here and I’m pretty excited,” he says ahead of his Test debut for New Zealand against Tonga this Saturday. “To pull on that Kiwis jersey will be something pretty special.”
Where exactly “here” is, takes some explaining.
Mulitalo has returned to Auckland – the city in which he was raised by his mother Vaega – for the first time in three years.
When Ronaldo and twin Lorenzo were 13 she uprooted their lives in the suburb of Otara and moved to Queensland in a bid to improve the boys’ chances of an NRL career.
“There wasn’t much opportunity for us coming up in New Zealand and that’s not being disrespectful,” Mulitalo tells AAP.
“Maybe at the time, I wasn’t good enough or hadn’t developed in certain ways.
“My family made sacrifices and backed my ability to succeed and that’s why we moved over to Australia.
“I think I really built my toughness and thick skin growing up in New Zealand.
“It’s a resilient place and although I moved to Australia, Auckland will always be home for me.”
It’s a move which has paid off. Mulitalo is still just 22 but has 37 tries in 52 NRL games and his form led to a call-up from Kiwis coach Michael Maguire for New Zealand’s first home Test since 2019.
Maguire has been keen on having Mulitalo play for New Zealand for some time, but it’s only by chance that the winger will don black and not the maroon of Queensland this weekend.
This time last year it was Origin II and an injury to Reece Walsh meant Mulitalo was poised to make his Maroons debut.
But despite playing junior representative football for the Maroons, he was deemed ineligible for senior Origin on the grounds he hadn’t played in Queensland before turning 14.
No issues had been flagged during his junior career and it led to the NRL and the Queensland Rugby League trying to apportion blame on one another as the winger was ruled out less than 24 hours before kick-off.
Mulitalo was caught in the middle.
“I feel like I handled it pretty well,” he says.
“I don’t want to play a blame game, me and my family can’t do anything about it to bring us happiness.
“I have always kept it pretty tight and the people close to me know what was going on in that situation.”
Even a year on, Mulitalo is bombarded with questions about his eligibility when he goes for a meal.
He’s used the last year to study for a qualification in counselling and has had guidance from Maguire and long-time New Zealand halfback Shaun Johnson throughout.
Johnson, a former teammate at Cronulla who was overlooked for the Tonga Test, was one of the first people to congratulate Mulitalo when he was selected for the Kiwis last week.
“I remember seeing Shauny play for the Kiwis when I was a young fella and I admired him with the cameras around him and the spotlight he was under,” Mulitalo said.
“I would’ve been nine or 10 and I was at a holiday camp where they take you to watch the team train.
“I was completely starstruck seeing him and guys like Simon Mannering and thinking to myself: ‘Holy, man’.
“The first game I remember watching was the game when James Tamou switched his allegiance from New Zealand to Australia.
“It’s crazy to think that I’d be on that international stage as well. It’s something I never thought would happen.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
21 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
37 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
37 Go to comments