Bully boys get the Mils chills

THE worst thing an underdog can do is get uppity, as Connacht learned after signing Mils Muliaina (below). There are valid questions to be asked about paying a man who will soon turn 34 hundreds of thousands of euro, and measuring the success of his mentoring role will be impossible.

However, there is an overwhelming desire to defend the signing given the pathetic reaction.

At least Rob Penney had the backbone to publicly criticise the signing as opposed to the harrumphs and anonymous rants at Connacht operating outside of the restrictions placed on other provinces. There was the same carping when Ulster brought in Springbok stars Johann Muller, Ruan Pienaar and Pedrie Wannenburg to turn the province into contenders, and maybe that was the fear from some vested interests – a fear that is stirring again.