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Crusaders star faces fresh allegations of inappropriate touching and spitting beer at woman in Cape Town

By Online Editors
Mo’unga

Crusaders and All Blacks first-five Richie Mo’unga is facing allegations from a Cape Town woman that he spat beer and touched her and her friends inappropriately at a bar in Cape Town over the weekend.

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These fresh allegations have surfaced in the wake of separate allegations of homophobic behaviour made by a Cape Town man against up to three Crusaders players at a McDonald’s following the Crusaders’ 19-all draw with the Stormers on Saturday, although head coach Scott Robertson claims star wing George Bridge was the only individual involved in a “selfie gone wrong”.

The woman and her friends were at Arcade bar in Cape Town on Saturday night when she said the incident took place, according to a report from Radio New Zealand.

“We got there and we noticed, I was actually telling my friends, these guys they look like New Zealanders, they look like either All Blacks or something,” she said.

“My friends and I were just standing, talking and then we just had… a lot of beer being spat at us and we looked and then my friend and I were shocked at what was happening, I told the guy ‘look here, that’s not okay, you don’t do that’ and he just flat out ignored us and walked away, he looked at us with a dead stare and just walked away.”

She claims a ‘friend’ of the player who spat on the group apologised to the woman and her friends, before they continued to dance.

“And then I noticed the guy behind me, and then he like pinched me on my bum and then as I was going to retaliate, my friend was like ‘no don’t, it’s not worth it’, leaving him and he just also had that like dead look on his face, he had no reaction…carried on partying, everything.”

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The group then decided to leave the bar because the woman said, “we were over it”.

“They clearly had no respect for anyone at that place, normally Arcade’s the place where we go to unwind and have fun with one another, but that was the worst experience so far.”

It wasn’t until the next day, after looking at an interview with the Sport Science Institute of South Africa, when the woman realised that the man at the bar was Mo’unga.

“I noticed this guy look really familiar, because it was an interview, and I told my friends ‘look… this guy’s from Arcade’.”

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Her friend also agreed that it was Mo’unga who was the man they had encountered the night beforehand.

“It is this guy because he has the exact same haircut, anyone can tell me yes it was dark, no I will never forget that face, I will never forget that face.”

The woman proceeded to message Mo’unga via Instagram to call him out for spitting on her and her friends.

A screenshot of the message suggests that Mo’unga acknowledged and apologised for the incident, saying he should have left well before everything happened.

A screenshot of an exchange via Instagram between a Cape Town woman and RIchie Mo’unga. Photo / RNZ.

“I’m really sorry for that I’m not aware that I did that,” he said.

“Obviously was intoxicated and should’ve gone home long before that stage, I’m sorry to you and your friends and want to assure you I don’t condone that behaviour and am sorry about that.”

The woman told RNZ it was the worst experience she’s had: “I’ve never been in such a position, I’ve never been violated, so for me it’s a first and I don’t know what to do.”

She said she decided to speak out about the incident after hearing about the allegations made against Crusaders players during the altercation at the McDonald’s outlet in Cape Town.

“I just feel like something needs to be done because, like I said, this is something small thing, it might be miniscule thing but then he does it again and he’s drunk and he does it again and it’s something way worse and that person maybe actually commits suicide or does something way worse than what I did, and then it’s another story.

“We always say ‘cut the bad while you can’.”

The Crusaders arrived back in Christchurch on Monday night ahead of their clash with the Blues on Saturday.

In other news:

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Adrian 27 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

6 Go to comments
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Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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