Type the words Ronaldo and Old Trafford into Google and you’ll immediately receive over 11 million search results, none of which have anything to do with Kiwis winger Ronaldo Mulitalo.
After spending much of his life answering questions about his more famous namesake from the round ball game, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mulitalo is now experiencing the reality of introducing himself to people in football-mad England.
That attention will only get more intense if the Kiwis manage to make it through to the Rugby League World Cup final in just over a month’s time, with that game to be held at Old Trafford, home to Manchester United and the other Ronaldo.
“I don’t like telling people around here my name because they are looking at me like ‘you’re a fake Ronaldo’,” Mulitalo said.
“It would be a bit of a surreal moment [to play at Old Trafford], that would be nice.
“But before we even think about getting to Old Trafford there is a bit of work to do.”
Mulitalo goes the aerial route
After an impressive year which saw him score 17 NRL tries for the Sharks and make his Kiwis debut, Mulitalo was among New Zealand’s stars in last Sunday’s 74-0 romp of Leeds, scoring a double.
But the Auckland-born flyer said the squad were being careful not to buy into any hype surrounding them ahead of their tournament-opener against Lebanon on Monday morning (5.40am AEDT).
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The Kiwis are the current No.1 ranked side in the world and have won five of their last six Test matches, including a 26-6 win over Tonga in June.
“That [Leeds game] was a good starting point for the group,” Mulitalo said.
“We probably don’t want to look too deep into it… it was a good way to build combinations and blow some cobwebs out.
It’s no secret we have got a really talented team with a lot of guys that are in form in the world’s best competition.
Ronaldo Mulitalo
“But that’s only talent. There’s so much work to be done and there’s no point having all that talent and falling short.
“Within camp we know exactly how we are going to look at these (pool) games and know we have got some work to do.”
While the Kiwis are expected to comfortably win Group C, which sees them matched up with Lebanon, Ireland and World Cup newcomers Jamaica, Mulitalo said Lebanon in particular were a side who shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“They’ve got Mitchell Moses, Jacob Kiraz and Adam Doueihi that have been outstanding in the NRL,” he said.
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“You are still coming up against players like that… I am pretty confident they will come out firing come Sunday.”