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Richie Mo'unga set for milestone match against Moana Pasifika
Playmaker Richie Mo’unga will play his 100th match in Crusaders colours on Friday night when the defending Super Rugby Pacific champions take on Moana Pasifika in Christchurch.
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Mo’unga will raise the bat for the Crusaders later this week when he runs out onto the same stadium he debuted at seven years ago.
Since making his debut in the opening round of the 2016 season against the Chiefs, Mo’unga has led the decorated franchise to six titles in as many years.
The 44-Test All Black is set to leave the Crusaders and New Zealand Rugby behind after this year’s World Cup after inking a three-year deal with Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan.
Ahead of his milestone match, the 28-year-old said that he always wanted to play 100 matches for the famous franchise.
“Ever since I walked through those doors at Rugby Park and saw how celebrated centurions are, it was pretty clear I wanted to be one myself,” Mo’unga said in a statement.
Mo’unga’s milestone headlines a star-studded team naming for the Crusaders, as the title holders welcome back a number of players from injury stints.
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Quinten Strange will replace Scott Barrett in the No. 4 jersey this week, while Macca Springer and Jack Goodhue have also been named to return.
Finlay Brewis and All Black David Havili are also available this week, and will be ready if called upon after being selected on the Crusaders’ bench.
“It’s awesome to have those guys back,” coach Scott Robertson said.
“Moana are power athletes and when they get it right, they’re dangerous.
“Tamati Ellison ahs been really clear about what we need to achieve defensively, so we’ll be showing them the respect they deserve by preparing well.”
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After beating the Reds in Brisbane last week, the Crusaders have made seven changes to their starting XV to take on Moana Pasifika.
Other than Quinten Strange at lock, Corey Kellow is the only other change in the forward pack – with the 21-year-old set to start in the coveted No. 7 jersey.
Mitchell Drummond has returned to the run-on side this week, and will partner milestone man Mo’unga in the halves.
In-form utility back Leicester Fainga’anuku will join Goodhue in the midfield after shifting to outside centre from the left wing.
Macca Springer and Will Gualter have been included in a new-look outside back trio this week – the latter being handed his first start for the Crusaders.
Crusaders team to take on Moana Pasifika
- Joe Moody
- Codie Taylor
- Tamaiti Williams
- Quinten Strange
- Dominic Gardiner
- Sione Havili Talitui
- Corey Kellow
- Christian Lio-Willie
- Mitchell Drummond
- Richie Mo’unga
- Macca Springer
- Jack Goodhue
- Leicester Fainga’anuku
- Will Gualter
- Fergus Burke
Replacements:
- Brodie McAlister
- Finlay Brewis
- Seb Calder
- Jamie Hannah
- Tom Christie
- Willi Heinz
- David Havili
- Melani Nanai
Comments on RugbyPass
What’s new its a common occurrence, just the journos out there expecting a negative spin. The outcome will be beneficial to jordie and Leinster. The home grown lads hav got some experience to step up to and be more competitive, that or spend the 6 months keeping the bench warm.
9 Go to commentsI’m all for speeding up the game. But can we be certain that the slowness of the game contributed to fans walking out? I’m not so sure. Super rugby largely suffered from most fans only being able to, really, follow the games played in their own time zone. So at least a third of the fan base wasn’t engaged at any point in time. As a Saffer following SA teams in the URC - I now watch virtually every European game played on the weekend. In SR, I wouldn’t be bothered to follow the games being played on the other side of the world, at weird hours, if my team wasn’t playing. I now follow the whole tournament and not just the games in my time zone. Second, with New Zealand teams always winning. It’s like formula one. When one team dominates, people lose interest. After COVID, with SA leaving and Australia dipping in form, SR became an even greater one horse race. Thats why I think Japan’s league needs to get in the mix. The international flavor of those teams could make for a great spectacle. But surely if we believe that shaving seconds off lost time events in rugby is going to draw fans back, we should be shown some figures that supports this idea before we draw any major conclusions. Where are the stats that shows these changes have made that sort of impact? We’ve measured down to the average no. Of seconds per game. Where the measurement of the impact on the fanbase? Does a rugby “fan” who lost interest because of ball in play time suddenly have a revived interest because we’ve saved or brought back into play a matter of seconds or a few minutes each game? I doubt it. I don’t thinks it’s even a noticeable difference to be impactful. The 20 min red card idea. Agreed. Let’s give it a go. But I think it’s fairer that the player sent off is substituted and plays no further part in the game as a consequence.
1 Go to commentsThose are pretty good draws for the two top Aussie teams. I certainly wouldn't want my Chiefs to have a quarter final in Brisbane. None of the top teams will want the Crusaders.
1 Go to commentsHonestly, I am a bit lost here …. Ireland - RSA was (at least in my opinion) perhaps (from a purely technical / rugby-skills-show point of view) the pinnacle of the RWC2023 - almost flawless playing (putting aside the kicking of RSA which was the difference between the two teams), rugby at it’s very best …. if I were a Bok and after the game some Irish lads came around saying “see you in 5 weeks same place”, I definitely wouldn’t have thought of it as being in any way “arrogant”, rather a sort of jolly “if we both continue to play like this, no one could stop us” - besides, few of us fans would have, at that time, been surprised to see the same teams playing on 23 september and 28 october 2023 ….. well, we all know Ireland chose to hit a slump to keep the QF curse alive …..
135 Go to commentsThere’s value gleaned from having an All Black star running and training with your team. How many games he starts (or even where he plays in the backline) will be decided on a week by week basis based on the needs for that week. But the overall learning and growth for all concerned, I’d think, is massively beneficial. Especially for Irish players.
9 Go to commentsSon, whith just " raw athlete “ , you are able to beat “ better rugby players “ by 74 points…. May be England should recruit in athletics….
1 Go to commentsPffft. It’s not a one-way street bud and Irish teams don’t seem to have had an issue taking kiwi players previously.
9 Go to commentsParticularly great to have captain Scott Barrett back after going off last week for the Crusaders. Codie Taylor a real leader and mighty Tamaiti Williams join Fletcher Newell in the front row. Those 2 will make a big difference. Great bench with the likes of Tom Christie, Jamie Hannah etc who are playing well. Should be a great derby.
1 Go to commentsDoes a blitz defence not have a weekness against a well-placed grubber kick, perhaps angled cleverly. All the defence is up and the full-back can only cover so much ground. Thoughts?
28 Go to commentsWhile Iose is destructive in the Canes set-up, he is not big for an international 8 and could struggle against the top teams. With his speed, he could be developed into a seven but, as Ben points out, he doesn’t show a scavenging game with the Canes or make dominating tackles. Sotutu has shown a step up this year and attitude plus motivation seems to be the big areas of growth. Deserves another AB shot imo.
3 Go to commentsNaholo is my only question mark for this side. He wasn’t the only one who had a forgettable game against the Brumbies but he was passive, defensively poor and generally lacked energy. Needs to get a whole lot busier for me. I would have liked to see Sullivan on that wing with Higgins on the bench (if staying with a 6-2 as BeegMike points out on here!)
3 Go to commentsWell, I am sure that Eben said exactly what he meant to say, exactly how he meant to say it. Does he strike you as a man that doesn't know arrogance when he sees it. He should know it because he has shaken the arrogance out of many foes before.
135 Go to commentsPls get it into your thick arrogant heads that the final was played by two Southern Hemisphere teams. The best against the best and that Argentina was just unlucky otherwise non of the Northetn Hemisphere teams would have seen the light of day.
135 Go to commentsAs long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
135 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
9 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
9 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to comments