Mils Muliaina to leave Connacht for new, Italian pastures

All Blacks flying all over the place.

Only three hours ago, we lauded Ulster's signing of 14-times capped All Blacks star Charles Piutau. Now, we are losing 100-times capped, World Cup winning, New Zealand legend Mils Muliaina. The former Auckland Blues and Waikato Chiefs star is off to Italian side Zebre next season. The club has also observed the April Fool's Day noon deadline before breaking the news. Muliaina has played 12 times for Connacht this season and had undertaken some mentoring and coaching responsibilities during his time in Galway.

@connachtrugby fullback and former @ChiefsRugby @RedHurricanes & @BluesRugbyTeam Muliaina joins Zebre #Rugby in Italy pic.twitter.com/co73Cyl7kb — Zebre Rugby (@ZebreRugby) April 1, 2015

Muliaina said, 'I can not wait to arrive in Italy and join up with Zebre. Thanks to the experience I had playing with the All Blacks, against Italy, in Rome and Milan, I know, first hand, how Italians live with a passion for rugby. Wearing the Zebre jersey will give me a chance to keep my competitive appetite, as a player.' Farewell Mils. We hardly knew ye.