Auckland move 'came out of the blue' for Cantabrian James Mullan

The Blues ascent to the top of the Super Rugby pile has been aided by the addition of some wily and uncompromising Cantabrians.

Crusaders Hall of Fame inductee Leon MacDonald drove considerable improvement in his five-year reign as coach winning 51 of 77 matches between 2019 and 2023.

In 2024 the Blues title drive was turbo charged by lock Sam Darry who was elevated to the All Blacks and named man of the match on his international debut against Argentina in Wellington.

Hooker James Mullan is hoping to have a similar impact in 2025 supporting seasoned campaigners Ricky Riccitelli and Kurt Eklund.

“I’ve been plucking away with Canterbury and the Crusaders since 2022 while others kept getting promoted ahead of me,” Mullan told RugbyPass.

“The call from Vern Cotter came out of the blue, excuse the bad pun. I was stoked, I was even on his radar.

“What does Vern expect? Core rolls done well. That is throwing accurately to lineouts, scrums, cleaning rucks and working hard.

‘I’m quite tall for a hooker so I might offer that advantage in the set piece. I enjoy one-off pick-and-goes and the confrontational side of the game, everything Vern loves I guess.

“Ricky and Kurt have been really inviting. We’ve done a lot of throwing work and focused on nuisances like scrum setups and carry-clean techniques.”

Mullan has only played six games across two seasons for Canterbury but it’s likely his background would have appealed to Cotter.

Loburn, across the Ashley River from Rangiora, is a small community with no shops. Local industries include a cheese factory and orchards. Farms in the community include those raising sheep, cattle and emu. The population is a little over 2,000.

Mullan started playing rugby at age five, barefoot in the frost. He was playing either halfback or first five-eighth when he was in Year 11 at Rangiora High School. With those positions taken in the First XV, he swapped to hooker where he would make a groundbreaking impact.

In the geographically expansive and historically competitive UC Championship, Mullan helped Rangiora twice make the semi-finals, a feat not achieved before or since.

From 2018 to 2020,  Rangiora won an unprecedented 24 out of 40 games, including the notable scalps of Nelson College, St Bede’s College, St Andrew’s College and Christ’s College.

Mullan made the New Zealand Secondary Schools team from the 2020 team that finished third.

The most seismic shock was in 2018 when Rangiora toppled eventual South Island champions Christchurch Boys’ High School to capture the Trustbank Cup – the Ranfurly Shield of South Island Secondary Schools rugby for the only time. Jack Marshall kicked a last-play penalty in a 35-33 win. College Sport Media reported.

“To suggest Christchurch hardly loses in the local competition is an understatement. Christchurch suffered defeat for just the fifth time in five seasons – halting a 21-game unbeaten streak stretching back to May 2017.

“In a game of extraordinary twists, the most breathtaking moment occurred with 15 minutes remaining. Rangiora missed a penalty attempt, the ball bouncing off the upright. Instead of the ball going dead, it pulled up before the dead ball line and stayed in the field of play where Blake Walesby following up scored a try to make it 29-19.”

“That made the local news,” Mullan laughed.

“Rangiora was a special time. We had a good group of lads that stayed together and played footy right through.

“Being a smaller school I guess we always played with a bit of a chip on the shoulder.

“I had a growth spurt in Year 13 which was awesome too. I’d always been a smaller player and then suddenly I could combine the skills of a small player with a bit of force.”

Rangiora’s coaching staff included Glen Dunseath, Craig Mullen, Greg Lewis and Crusaders manager Shane Fletcher.

Mullan was fast-tracked into the Canterbury and Crusaders Academy after college, but rating behind Codie Taylor, George Bell, and Brodie McAlister meant opportunities were sparse. Only two of his six NPC appearances for Canterbury were starts.

Mullan wasn’t idle. The son of school teachers Craig and Simone, he has nearly finished a degree at the New Zealand Broadcasting School and is a DJ at gigs and weddings. He calls himself DJ Coeliac, after the disease, which means he is gluten-free.