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Watch: Richie Mo'unga puts on a first half clinic as All Blacks put Wallabies to the sword

By Online Editors
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

An explosive opening 13 minutes which saw two yellow cards, a try and another disallowed hasn’t been enough to stop the All Blacks from stamping their authority over the Wallabies in the first half of Bledisloe Cup III in Sydney.

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Crucial to their success in the first 40 minutes has been first-five Richie Mo’unga, who – in tandem with fullback and fellow playmaker Beauden Barrett – pulled the strings superbly to put the Australians to the sword in front of their home crowd.

Heading into the sheds up 26-0, the Kiwis look well on track to retain the Bledisloe Cup for a 17th consecutive year, and much of that has to do with the work of Mo’unga, who bagged a brace of tries and was unlucky not to have scored a third.

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Wallabies captain Michael Hooper speaks to media ahead of Bledisloe Cup III

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Wallabies captain Michael Hooper speaks to media ahead of Bledisloe Cup III

The first of his two tries came in the 21st minute, when the 26-year-old showed off the dazzling footwork that helped propel the Crusaders to a Super Rugby Aotearoa title earlier this year off the back of a set piece move.

Swinging the ball to the blindside following some good work by the metre-eating forwards, halfback Aaron Smith found Mo’unga, who was pitted against Wallabies hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa.

That was a serious mismatch, with the front rower unable to reel in Mo’unga as he easily stepped his way through the defensive line while Marika Koroibete was held up marking his opposite Caleb Clarke.

Waltzing his way up to the tryline, Mo’unga then had too much agility for 20-year-old Wallabies No. 10 Noah Lolesio – on debut for Australia – leaving him grasping at thin air as he sailed in over the right-hand corner.

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In a brilliant piece of play coming just moments later, the 19-test star latched onto a deft chip kick placed in behind the Australian defensive line from well inside the New Zealand half.

Another piece of ball-playing magic left Lolesio, Koroibete and Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper hapless as they desperately tried to bring Mo’unga to the ground, but their efforts proved luckless as the latter scorched 50 metres downfield to score his second.

Had it not been for a slip of footing while hot on attack towards the end of the first half, Mo’unga would have almost certainly scored a hat-trick inside the opening stanza.

But, with the youthful Wallabies playmakers looking well out of their depth, there is sure to be a multitude of opportunities in the second half for Mo’unga to add to both his and his team’s admirable points tally.

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Trevor 49 minutes 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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B
Bull Shark 4 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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