Eyes alert, ears pointed, the 4-year-old champion officially named Protocol's Veni Vidi Vici barked in the ring and then jumped on Mullins when the judge pointed to her.
Louise Rickard, with 110 caps behind her at wing and full-back, is on the bench as second row cover while uncapped number eight Vici Owens and centre Adi Taviner make their first appearance on the bench.
Among the top contenders are a prime Doberman named Veni Vidi Vici that reached the best-of-seven final ring last year, a big-winning wire fox terrier, a German wirehaired pointer ranks as the nation's No. 1 show dog and a prized American foxhound.