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'He's just a freak': Mo'unga on All Blacks' try-scoring phenom
All Blacks flyhalf Richie Mo’unga is “just glad that it’s over” after an immense tussle with recent rivals Ireland, also heaping praise on his young Crusaders teammate, the try-scoring phenom Will Jordan.
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The pair linked up to score New Zealand’s opening try of the second half, a crisp and beautifully executed run off an All Blacks lineout that saw Mo’unga split the gap between reigning World Player of the Year Josh van der Flier and hooker Dan Sheehan.
Collecting the ball just five meters out of his own 22, Mo’unga burst into the play, throwing a subtle dummy inside and keeping the ball in two hands to cause hesitation from the Irish defence. Having run 50 meters, the playmaker drew in the final defender and put Jordan away in the corner.
The winger’s support line was run to perfection. Following the match, Mo’unga credited Jordan’s reputation as a constant threat as the key to his linebreak.
“We practised that throughout the week,” he told the press in Paris. “The move wasn’t actually made for me, it was made for Will Jordan on the inside and I saw the two defenders hold on him because obviously, he’s a big threat at the line.
“I was able to get through, and thank God it happened that way because I wouldn’t have had the wheels to finish that thing off. Luckily I gave it away to the speed, which was a good way to finish, and it became pretty crucial in the end.”
Turnovers 
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Turnovers Won
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11
Turnovers Lost
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While history will reflect the decision as poor, given the support inside the hooker, it’s hard to blame Sheehan for hesitating given Jordan’s remarkable try-scoring record. The 25-year-old is averaging just shy of a try per game in his three-year All Blacks career.
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Having played alongside the speedster in Super Rugby Pacific, Mo’unga has had plenty of time to build chemistry with Jordan and knows first-hand the danger his clubmate poses.
“He’s just a freak. You know the charisma that he has, just the presence. There will be a number of players like him in teams where you just know he has it.
“What people don’t usually see is his ability to understand the game of rugby. You see it in games where he pops up at the right time. His anticipation is probably his biggest strength, that and his speed. He is able to read plays ahead and see where the ball is going to get to. And he sniffs out any opportunity.
“He has a huge, huge future.”
Now just two games away from a fourth Rugby World Cup win, the All Blacks have avenged their Steinlager Series loss of 2022 and eliminated the world’s number-one ranked team from the tournament.
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It’s a mammoth effort that Mo’unga admits emptied the tank.
“I am just glad that it’s over and we got the job done.
“To play a quarter-final in the Rugby World Cup is not only demanding physically, mentally it takes its toll.
“You are building up your whole week and putting everything into 80 minutes. And rugby is pretty brutal, it doesn’t always go your way. We were put under a whole lot of pressure in that game and at the end, in the dying minutes, we were able to hang tough with our defence.
“For us to achieve that was just awesome because of many reasons, one being no one really gave us a chance. We expected that, we played Ireland, the best in the world, and we knew we didn’t have to be the best in the world, we just had to be the best on the day.
“That was a huge thing for us leading into this game. We wanted to pour everything into this game and really stamp our mark into this one, which we did tonight, which is cool.”
Comments on RugbyPass
wel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
4 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
4 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
4 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
238 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments