Maestro Mo’unga versus Mighty Mouse
One of the beauties of the New Zealand Super Rugby ‘derbies’ is that we get head-to-head All Blacks trials in several positions.
They are battles within battles.
None more so than Saturday night’s Crusaders-Chiefs round one clash in Christchurch. The No 10s pit new All Black Richie Mo’unga against the man who would be king, Damian McKenzie. The latter wants the responsibility of running the Chiefs’ cutter after the departure of Aaron Cruden. He has the skill to handle it with aplomb.
But can he make the same impact as he did at fullback in 2017, where he played the most minutes, beat 80 defenders and lit up Super Rugby like a firecracker?
Mo’unga, at 23 a year older and just as wise, is a classy operator, having shown the goods since 2014 with Canterbury and since 2016 with the Crusaders. He is perhaps the best pure No 10 in the country, despite the fact that Beauden Barrett is the world’s best rugby player.
Mo’unga proved the most elusive first five in Super Rugby last year, and his contribution to the Crusaders’ eighth title was significant. Furthermore, he did not button off during the Mitre 10 Cup with Canterbury, playing a virtuoso role in the final as the red and blacks won a ninth premiership in 10 years.
But McKenzie’s ability to also play at 15, as he has shown for the All Blacks, is gold in any squad situation. On that basis, he would have the inside running when the June tests against France roll around.
So we have another instalment of a rivalry which began on the First XV fields of
Christchurch in 2011-12, when McKenzie was doing the damage for Christ’s College, to national exposure, while Mo’unga was going about his work in more understated fashion for St Andrew’s College, known locally as STAC.
McKenzie might have won out individually in those days, making the 2012 NZ Barbarians Schools before cracking the NZ Schools of 2013. But he had switched to fullback for the 2014 NZ Under 20s under Chris Boyd, starting four of the five games from the back.
Mo’unga was originally second string No 10 to captain Simon Hickey in that side, but injury to the latter saw Mo’unga start three games at first five and one at fullback. Ironically, later that season, Mo’unga ran out mainly in the No 15 jersey for Canterbury, biding his time behind Dan Carter, no less, Colin Slade, Tom Taylor and Tyler Bleyendaal. When the Cantabs faced Waikato, McKenzie was at No 10 for the Mooloos, being exposed with his tackling technique. Mo’unga was seeing all the action from the back.
The stars of both men have since risen exponentially, though McKenzie’s has shone brightest.
“We’re familiar with each other, having played with and against each other. We’re good mates and I especially admire the way he plays. He brings huge X-factor and is a threat to the line. You just have to be prepared,” says Mo’unga, who will be on guard on Saturday night, even if McKenzie has less room than normal for the Chiefs.
“He’s played a bit there at 10, so he’s not coming in having no clue.”
Mo’unga’s mindset does not change, even though he has one All Blacks match – against the French XV – under his belt now. Even with Lima Sopoaga about to fly the coop, Mo’unga cannot afford to let his thoughts drift too often to the second half of the year.
“Playing for the All Blacks is huge for me, my family and my friends, but you can’t rest on anything, so you have to be prepared for any game, be it for Canterbury, Crusaders or the All Blacks,” he says.
Mo’unga is feeding off the knowledge that the new Crusaders backs coach Ronan O’Gara – the great Ireland and Munster No 10 – is bringing to his game and the backline.
“He’s been awesome, just with a new perspective he’s brought around tactics and game management. And he’s been one of the best kickers in rugby. He loves a spiral, so we are trying to bring that into our game,” adds Mo’unga.
Thank God for that, a return to spiral punting, after years of front-on, conservative touch-finding.
O’Gara also knows a thing or two about rivalries, having spent years vying with Johnny Sexton for the Ireland No 10 jersey. The latter was ultimately the better player, but O’Gara, though not a noted defender, was a prolific match-winner on his day and had the better temperament under white-hot pressure.
The Mo’unga-McKenzie rivalry is set to spark in similar fashion, so watch closely.
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments