All Blacks turn to Emoni Narawa with Richie Mo'unga's timeline uncertain

The All Blacks have brought in Emoni Narawa to cover the injured Richie Mo’unga, who is set to miss both Tests in the Bledisloe Cup series with a calf complaint.

Mo’unga was initially named, internally, to start this weekend’s Test against the Wallabies, but suffered the setback at training on Tuesday, which ruled him out and triggered changes to the matchday 23. As a result, Damian McKenzie will start at 10, with Beauden Barrett coming in at fullback.

Mo’unga’s timeline for return remains unclear, with Dave Rennie telling reporters in Auckland on Thursday that should the calf injury rule the playmaker out of the Northern Tour, the team may look to a new, young playmaker.

“There are a couple of guys that have gone really well in the NPC,” Rennie said when looking ahead to a potential Mo’unga-less Nations Championship, with Ruben Love also unavailable for the remainder of the year.

Narawa has been an All Black since 2023 but is most commonly a serial injury replacement in the squad, despite some impressive showings in his few opportunities on the field. With Bay of Plenty’s NPC season over, Narawa’s call-up doesn’t disrupt any of this weekend’s quarter-finals.

The same cannot be said for Chay Fihaki’s call-up, with the outside back named on the right wing for Canterbury before replacing Fehi Fineanganofo in camp this week.

All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie revealed on Thursday that he had considered releasing Taranaki first-five Josh Jacomb from camp to suit up in the quarter-final showdown against North Harbour, but after Mo’unga’s injury he felt it best to keep the additional No.10 cover on hand.