1
'We address the elephant in the room': All Black first five battle not a destabilising force for the team says Mo'unga
As the All Blacks assemble in camp ahead of their tests against Tonga and Fiji, new faces and old faces have come together to create a fresh environment for this year’s squad.
ADVERTISEMENT
Returning first five Richie Mo’unga enters the camp having won another Super Rugby Aotearoa title with the Crusaders, and is looking to get back into the ‘groove’ with the All Blacks side.
“What you remember quite quickly is your journey, your start in the jersey and your first experience coming in,” Mo’unga said of meeting the newcomers.
“The new boys coming in, its just about making them feel as welcome as possible. It’s about getting into the grove again, I think this week is about getting into a good grove.”
Mo’unga will once again face off against Beauden Barrett who has returned from Suntory in Japan to join the squad. The pair last year played in a 10-15 partnership across The Rugby Championship, but Barrett has made it public knowledge he wants to play 10 again for New Zealand.
The Crusaders flyhalf said the battle is ‘no different’ to other contests in the squad for positions. He said that their relationship is healthy and the way they push each other for the starting role can only be healthy for the team.
“I think it is no different to any other player. There is a lot of competition out there in positions, I think it is really healthy for the team, it’s healthy for us because it is a big challenge,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
“To know that I’ve got someone like Baz is wanting the same jersey as me, it’s motivating, it’s inspiring. It’s not an unhealthy challenge, it is one that is going to be better for the team.
“Whoever dons the jersey, I’ll be happy for him and he’d be happy for me and it’s about, if I’m not putting that 10 jersey on, it’s ‘what’s my role?'”
There are no secrets held, as Mo’unga says the pair are open and honest about their ambitions in the team. They both desire to start but will put the team before themselves.
“We are open about it. We address the elephant in the room, but once again, we are not bigger than the team. The team is far greater than the individual,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
“If he is wearing the 10 jersey this week, how can I help best prepare him, how can I best prepare the team to go out there and perform, and it’s putting your ego on the hook.”
Despite entering the international season in some of his career best Super Rugby form, Mo’unga doesn’t feel like he can be called the best based on performances against Australian and Kiwi Super teams.
“I feel like I’ve had a great Super Rugby season, probably my best yet but we are comparing apples with apples,” he said.
“To say we are the best, we’ve got to perform against the best.
“We haven’t had that chance really. We’ve been caught in our own bubble, playing Australia and New Zealand teams, but to me that isn’t really showing how great we are as a team.
“We need to do that against other countries on the world stage.”
One man who has pushed his way into the All Blacks squad on form is David Havili, who now looks like the frontrunner to play at 12 following injuries to Jack Goodhue and Anton Lienert-Brown.
Seeing his Crusaders teammate recalled made Mo’unga feel like a proud ‘older brother’, and he is looking forward to seeing him take his opportunity.
“I feel like a proud older brother, seeing him back in this enviroment. We all know what he has been through”
“We for sure know what he is capable of, and it was just a matter of time before he was back in this environment. One thing I will say about Dave, he’s worked bloody hard to be where he is now.
“He’s calm, composed, under pressure. I’m looking forward to seeing him hopefully get an opportunity. He’s been in this environment before, he was in it before me so he’s well experienced and knows he needs to worry about his role.
As for who lines up in the midfield when Mo’unga is on the field at first five, he hopes any changes in the midfield won’t impact his play, preferring to play off instincts and focus on his core role.
“I hope not because I want to play what is in front of me. I think that is a strength of mine, giving the things you create. Playing based on my gut feel and my instincts,” he said.
“I hope that everyone that plays outside me or my midfield, they do the same. I hope they nail there role so I can nail mine, and that collectively puts together a good performance.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Who's Jarrad Hohepa?
1 Go to commentsSo let me get this straight. Say you have the dominant scrum. You are 99% sure you can go for a scrum pushover try on the line to win the game. The opposition knows it too. They give away a silly tap kick instead. You are now not allowed to scrum. This is ridiculous! *%@ing the game up as usual! The fact that the attacking teams are not allowed to scrum from a held up over the line is just as ridiculous. Really world rugby? Careful people might start a rebel league called True Rugby or Real Rugby.
72 Go to comments12 subs during a game? How has that been allowed to happen NB? I hate when the game goes in this monopolistic direction closing up shop, it just becomes non sport. Btw have you seen anything of how Liam Coltman was tracking for Lyon? He has just signed to return to Otago though we have a couple of young hookers developing here. He was a popular gentle natured character down here and I’m glad to see him back but maybe he will be a mentor primarily?
4 Go to commentsGreat breakdown and the global politics always confuses me a little. The southern hemisphere seems to be left out a bit but I wouldn’t even know where to start with fixing it. Club challenge could be a step in the right direction
4 Go to commentsSince he coached Free state, from that time onwards, I maintained he was the coach for the Boks. A nice, no nonsense guy with an excellent brain, who gets results.
11 Go to commentswell - they only played against 14 men and had the TMO team on their side - and still should have lost… so actually that makes sense.
32 Go to commentsSouthern hemisphere Rugby is exactly that, boring. Northern Hemisphere Rugby is soooo much more entertaining and better with better players.
2 Go to commentsIf he was to be cited for a dangerous behavior, then it’s natural that he should be. Then NTamack too, yes? And I’ll add a good whataboutism - Yeandle eye-gouging on Richie Arnold: not cited. Eye-gouging. Not high tackle. Eye-gouging. It was on French TV, with French TV directors.
5 Go to commentsReally poorly written rambling piece ..
4 Go to commentsIt was so boring
2 Go to commentspersonally I’d go with : 1. France 2. NZ 3. England 4. Ireland 5. Scotland
32 Go to commentsAndy everything becomes easier with experience therefor counting etc straight after a match becomes easier when you have 100+ caps vs 17 which is the experience you speak from.
160 Go to commentsGetting rid of the Dupont Law is a good thing and ought to have been done months ago! Officially getting rid of the croc roll is a good thing. The law about no scrums from a short arm is well intended in terms of speeding the game up but it’s an overreaction to a clever yet calculated gamble that could have blow up in South Africa’s face if they conceded a penalty from the scrum that was set after Willemse took claimed the mark in the World Cup QF.
72 Go to commentsRassie The GOAT
11 Go to commentsOf their 5 big matches in RWC Scotland and NZ were the easiest. They took a 12-3 lead against NZ and after the red decided it was best to hold the lead and take chances that came. None came and it was tight but they dug a lot deeper in the other two knock out matches. They had trounced NZ in Twickenham in a fixture that NZ must now regret. Psychology was clearly with SA in the final as a result.
32 Go to commentsMy favourite line/exchanges from Chasing the Sun 2. News headline: “SA. The last hurdle in ABs World Cup glory”. Something like that. “You’re all just a hurdle. A hop, skip and a jump”. Coming from Rassie and Jacque. Basically - nobody thinks you’re going to win. You’re just a pushover team. Nobody respects you. When the camera shows the players faces, you can see the effect. You can see the rev meters (die moer metertjies) firing up. Mitchell said he felt it prior to the 19 final. He said to Eddie watching the teams warming up that it was going to be a tough day at the office. Wave a red flag in front of South African, and you can expect a reaction. This is not unique - many teams rev themselves. And Bok teams in particular. With horrific consequences (discipline, poor thinking under pressure) because that’s the drawback to using emotion right? But what this Bok team does better than many since 2007 is channel the emotion and stay on task. Despite the emotion. Why, because while Rassie might play mind games - he talks about creating a safe environment. Listen to his recent honorary doctorate acceptance speech. While he uses psychology he creates psychological safety. He’s a damn fine coach. Can’t wait for Pretoria. It’s going to be a hummer.
11 Go to commentsWhat Rassie does for SA is big. It has helped people to unite and see we can win with the right people in place.
11 Go to commentsTerrible conditions for young players to express themselves just enjoy it guys. As a saffa great to see Ausie youth looking good. Wow SA have some great talent also.
2 Go to commentsYes, another example of French tv directors ensuring that incidents like this are swiftly glossed over for the benefit of their teams…
5 Go to commentsThe prospect of the club match ups across hemispheres is surely appetising for everyone. The reality however, may prove to be slightly different. There are currently two significant driving forces that have delivered to same teams consistently to the latter champions cup stages for years now. The first of those is the yawning gap in finances, albeit delivered by different routes. In France it’s wealthy private owners operating with a higher salary cap by some distance compared to England. In Ireland it’s led by a combination of state tax relief support, private Leinster academy funding and IRFU control - the provincial budgets are not equal! This picture is not going to change anytime soon. The second factor is the EPCR competition rules. You don’t need a PhD. in advanced statistical analysis from oxbridge to see the massive advantage bestowed upon the home team through every ko round of the tournament. The SA teams will gain the opportunity for home ko ties in due course but that could actually polarise the issue even further, just look at their difficulties playing these ties in Europe and then reverse them for the opposition travelling to SA. Other than that, the picture here is unlikely to change either, with heavyweight vested interests controlling the agenda. So what does all this point to for the club world championship? Well the financial differential between the nh and sh teams is pretty clear. And the travel issues and sporting challenge for away teams are significantly exacerbated beyond those already seen in the EPCR tournaments. So while the prospect of those match ups may whet our rugby appetites, I’m very much still to be convinced the reality will live up to expectations…
4 Go to comments