LONG READ Richie Mo'unga is back and desperate to make up for lost time

A bit like the Mounties, it was always the case that Dave Rennie was going to get his man and bring Richie Mo’unga into the All Blacks.

Everyone knew this was inevitable – that the All Blacks were almost certainly going to see someone suffer a tour-ending injury in South Africa and that Mo’unga would be deemed the right replacement by Rennie almost regardless of who was heading home.

As it turned out, it was midfielder Billy Proctor who cracked his shoulder in the opening game and Rennie was able to persuade the New Zealand Rugby board of directors that Mo’unga, a specialist No 10, was the player he needed to call up.

The board considered the request and then granted an exemption for Mo’unga to get on the plane and duly complete the charade.

It was a charade because effectively everyone in the New Zealand system was trying to find workarounds to the very rules they themselves had put in place and so much effort and needless energy was spent fixing something that never needed to happen.

It would have been a lot simpler and cleaner if Mo’unga, who has signed a contract with NZR through to next year’s World Cup, had been eligible to play for the All Blacks the instant he did so.

But alas, there is a little chink in the system, and it turns out there is a kind of loyalty scheme in operation for players returning to New Zealand from overseas, and the longer the contract they commit to, the sooner they will be eligible for the All Blacks.

In Mo’unga’s case, NZR wanted him to sign a two-year deal (preferably even three) and had he done so, he would have been on the plane to South Africa with everyone else two weeks ago.

That he didn’t meant Rennie wasn’t able to select a player he has identified as a likely World Cup contender for the most important tour of the four-year cycle.

Hence the use of the injury exemption which enables the board to fast-track eligibility if the All Blacks can prove the case as to why they need that specific player.

The South Africans have been watching this unravel for the last week or so with literally no idea why New Zealand is making things so hard for themselves.

All policies will be looked at over the next wee while. Don [Tricker] and I have had conversations about what things should look like long term and the possibility of picking players from overseas.

Dave Rennie

They have the simplest eligibility framework where if they are South African, head coach Rassie Erasmus can pick them.

New Zealand could never go down that track as it would spark an exodus and kill Super Rugby, but the Mo’unga saga has confirmed that it does need to look at its current settings and consider change.

“That would make it easier,” Rennie said when he was asked if he was in favour of changing the rules to say that anyone who signs a contract with NZR is immediately available for the All Blacks.

“All policies will be looked at over the next wee while. Don [Tricker] and I have had conversations about what things should look like long term and the possibility of picking players from overseas. But that will be a long process, and it will need to go through board approval.”

The ‘Don’ to whom Rennie is referring is the incoming high-performance director Tricker, who will have direct oversight of the All Blacks and will report directly to NZR chief executive Steve Lancaster.

Tricker, once he starts in November, is expected to evaluate whether the sabbatical programme is still working and whether the qualification to be afforded one could be changed from having earned 70 Test caps to years of loyalty instead.

It’s likely that he will look at whether the eligibility settings need to be tweaked to allow a small number of overseas-based players to be available to the All Blacks and under what conditions, and a simplification of the return-to-play protocol could be on the cards to prevent confusing situations like Mo’unga’s developing where he’s contracted but not available.

Rennie pitched the scenario of regaining access to Brodie Retallick, who is playing in Japan and by his estimation – he has coached him for the last three seasons at Kobe – is in world-class form.

Rennie unsuccessfully lobbied the board to make changes when he first got the job in March this year.

He pitched the scenario of regaining access to Brodie Retallick, who is playing in Japan and by Rennie’s estimation – he has coached him for the last three seasons at Kobe – is in world-class form.

But Retallick earns a small fortune and doesn’t want to come home for a huge pay cut and extended periods of long-haul travel time away from home.

Rennie’s hypothetical was that Retallick could remain with Kobe next year but be available for the Rugby Championship and World Cup.

It was a hard no from the board, but Tricker will complete an intelligence gathering exercise and build an evidential case that will outline the benefits of any proposed changes and probable risks.

None of this means things will definitely change, but New Zealand is at least going to stress test its current eligibility settings and have a sensible, grown-up conversation about whether they should change – one based on facts and informed opinions.

The other, immediate impact of Mo’unga’s call-up, of course, is the new dynamic his arrival will cause within the All Blacks.

The 44-man squad now has five first-fives in it – Ruben Love, Damian McKenzie, Beauden Barrett, Josh Jacomb and Mo’unga – an unusually high number, creating a tension around selection.

“I met with all four 10s and spoke to them before I had even spoken to Richie,” Rennie said. “I just wanted them to understand that Richie has been signed to NZR and my job as head coach is to pick the best player available.

“Razor [previous All Blacks coach Scott Robertson] was obviously involved in bringing Richie home and he talked to Ruben about it.

What happens from here will be truly fascinating as Love, after a championship-winning campaign with the Hurricanes has been mature, confident and composed for the All Blacks.

“Ruben was saying how good it would be to get him [Mo’unga] in and have the chance to learn. At the moment it has been Ruben’s jersey and he is going well so we are happy with that. It will be good competition but all four 10s are really supportive of the decision.”

What happens from here will be truly fascinating as Love, after a championship-winning campaign with the Hurricanes, has been mature, confident and composed for the All Blacks.

He earned his chance and has taken it, and he looks to be the right guy for Rennie to back through to the 2027 World Cup and beyond.

But there is no denying that Mo’unga brings a skill-set that is hard to resist. He steered the Crusaders to seven Super Rugby titles and won 56 Test caps before he left for Toshiba Brave Lupus in 2024.

And while he was at Toshiba, he won two championships and was universally considered to have grown his game and been the undisputed star of the Top League.

Rennie, having been in Japan for the entire time Mo’unga was there, has never hidden the fact he’s a fan and that his plan has always been to bring the veteran No 10 into the All Blacks as soon as possible to acquaint him with the new attack plans and systems.

“I am not sure when he will play Test footy for us but having him here in our environment will accelerate that opportunity,” Rennie said of Mo’unga’s call-up.

“He’s a very good player. We are very happy with how Ruben is going, how Damian, who we are predominantly using at full-back now, is going, Beauden and even Josh. It is about creating depth in those positions and Richie brings a lot of experience but as I said, he has to earn the right.”

Rennie says New Zealand’s last non-Test game of the tour against the Lions on 25 August is likely to be the one in which Mo’unga will make his first appearance, but when he will play a Test is the great unknown.

Unless he picks up an injury, the likelihood is that the three Tests in South Africa have been earmarked for Love to start at No 10.

Maybe the fourth Test in Baltimore is the place for Mo’unga to win his 57th cap, or potentially he might have to wait until the All Blacks play the Wallabies at Eden Park in October.

Maybe the fourth Test in Baltimore is the place for Mo’unga to win his 57th cap, or potentially he might have to wait until the All Blacks play the Wallabies at Eden Park in October.

But Mo’unga is back and the All Blacks now have genuine tension building between their play-makers – and a sense that the No 10 jersey has become the most contestable in the team.

Rennie has said Mo’unga won’t be involved in the first Test but he might get game time against the Lions and start pushing a claim them.

He is the logical replacement because of the quality of the player.