Not caving to Richie Mo'unga is a good thing for the All Blacks

Returning first five-eighth Richie Mo’unga won’t be eligible to play for the All Blacks on the tour of South Africa according to the latest reports.

Under the rules, he must play first-class rugby in New Zealand before representing the All Blacks under his new 18-month deal, and that won’t be possible before the All Blacks venture to South Africa for a historic Springboks tour.

If Mo’unga wanted to play on the tour, perhaps he should’ve penned a two-year commitment with Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo instead of squeezing one more season in Japan. Such is life that there are trade offs to be made and opportunity costs.

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Not that Mo’unga will be too unhappy about it. He’s cashed in on his career’s work handsomely, won two Japan Rugby League One championships, had some life outside of the Christchurch bubble, and will return to New Zealand a better player as a result.

He’s coming back for one main reason anyway, which is the 2027 Rugby World Cup, and perhaps to play for the Crusaders in the new One New Zealand stadium.

Let’s not forget he’s already had two cracks at winning the World Cup as the All Black starting No.10, first in 2019 and again in 2023.

The first was not his fault, thrust into the role at the 11th hour while two-time World Player of the Year Beauden Barrett was robbed of his best chance on the biggest stage.

The second time around he was agonisingly close to delivering a fourth World Cup for the All Blacks in the Greatest Defeat of All-Time. Mo’unga was unjustly denied one of the great try assists, after bamboozling the Springboks edge he set up Aaron Smith for a key try in the second half. Overruled outside of jurisdiction, it should have stood.

That conversion may have been easier than the one Mo’unga missed from the sideline after Beauden Barrett’s try 10 minutes later, but we’ll never know if he would’ve given the All Blacks a 13-12 lead.

A man with two World Cup campaigns under his belt already has all the experience necessary to play on the biggest stage. So while having Mo’unga would be a luxury in South Africa, it’s not the best use of the All Blacks No.10 jersey.

New head coach Dave Rennie enters the picture with a short runaway into the 2027 event, with 2026 the last year to really experiment and find answers.

The condensed international schedule in 2027 should really be about refinement and ramping up the defensive intensity into the showpiece event.

Time is of the essence to move on from Scott Robertson’s era where old timers were given swan song tours and new players were left holding tackle bags for too long.

The All Blacks need answers on this tour to South Africa, to find out what young players can step up in the crunch time and play when the pressure is highest.

Even if they fail, they’ll be better for the experience. You cannot replicate the high pressure Test match moments in a World Cup, but this tour will be the closest thing.

And no player is in more need of that experience than Hurricanes first five-eighth Ruben Love.

Love is now two years older than Dan Carter when he tore apart the British & Irish Lions in the second Test in Wellington in 2005. Yes it’s a different era, but it will always be true that a younger, more dynamic backline player in their mid-20s has more to offer physically than one in their mid-30s.

The 25-year-old has had five Tests so far and just one meaningful start, at fullback against Wales, who are outside the top 10 in the world rankings. Suffice to say it’s not nearly enough game time. Nowhere near it.

If there was any forward planning by the All Blacks, they would’ve been investing in Love for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. It’s now time to play catch up.

Love needs to start the first two Tests against the Springboks in South Africa. He’s the form No.10 in New Zealand, leading the best side in the competition, which is putting up historic numbers in attack. The All Blacks’ starting halfback and second five-eighth are Love’s club teammates, Cam Roigard and Jordie Barrett. It’s the perfect situation for him to slide into.

The historic lesson for the All Blacks to not repeat the mistakes with Love that they did with Richie Mo’unga himself.

The big mistake with Mo’unga’s early international career was the lack of exposure before the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

He was only given the starting job in 2019, just months out from the event. He had only two starts for the All Blacks prior to the 2019 season. In his third Test start he had serious wobbles against the Springboks in Wellington, which ended with a disappointing 16-all draw. In his fourth start the All Blacks were smashed 47-26 in a historic loss to the Wallabies in Perth.

It was clear Mo’unga didn’t have the same confidence and poise at international level at the time. Heading into the Rugby World Cup, he had just five starts and the semi-final against England was only his ninth Test start. He was targeted by England in that game as the All Blacks fell, 19-7.

Had Mo’unga been given more big game experience in 2017 and 2018, he would have been in a better place to manage the job in Japan.

While Love will be hard-pressed to get near 10 Test starts by 2027 now, the experience gained on the South Africa tour will be worth a lot. It’s hostile, the series will have knockout level intensity, and the Springboks are the number one side right now.

The All Blacks must keep 2027 in mind and find out what they have in Ruben Love now.