Why Mo’unga is in a different league
Richie Mo’unga might have done great things in a rugby league kit. There were opportunities for him to have a dig at the 13-man code, with talent-spotters honing in on him during his teenage years.
Older brother Tonga, who was good enough to play for a New Zealand representative rugby side when he attended Christchurch Boys’ High School, had already blazed a trail for his sibling to follow by electing to represent the Canterbury Bulls league team.
So young Richie was no stranger to world of rugby league.
Then there were the league scouts. They could sense Mo’unga was special. He was blessed with the ability to see read the game in advance, and make decisions much faster than his peers.
He possessed another valued trait: confidence.
Mo’unga, now 25, was on a trip with the St Andrew’s College 1st XV to Queensland when scouts from league clubs locked eyes on the young first five-eighth.
First XV coaches Joe Leota and Mike Johnston recall the impact Mo’unga made during those trips, and the calls that followed.
‘‘He certainly generated a lot of interest,’’ Johnston said. ‘‘Not just in rugby. We went to the Gold Coast a couple of times and the league scouts were very, very interested in him.
‘‘He had the offers. They could see what he could do as a stand-off or half in rugby league.’’
Mo’unga wasn’t interested. Three years ago he laughed when he told The Press that even if he wanted to play league Tonga wouldn’t have allowed him to, saying he wasn’t tough enough.
Tonga was probably underestimating his brother as there are already several instances of Mo’unga playing with broken bones in his hand, including in his All Blacks debut as a replacement against a French XV in Lyon in 2017. In any case, it wasn’t as if the Canterbury Rugby Football Union was going to allow a league club to poach him.
The CRFU had also been tracking Mo’unga’s progress, maintaining contact with Leota and Johnston during his three years in the St Andrew’s 1st XV.
All parties made sure Mo’unga was carefully managed.
‘‘We also didn’t want Richie to get over-exposed,’’ Johnston said. ‘‘We were talking about the amount of training that he was going, making sure that he was getting a balanced training programme. It was a very positive conversation.’’
Mo’unga was going places, at a young age. He enrolled at the private school, having been offered a sports scholarship, aged 14. He left his mates at Riccarton High School after Leota had seen him play for a Canterbury age-group team.
Not that Mo’unga immediately enjoyed the switch.
For starters he had to keep the tattoo on his calf muscle – he took the opportunity to decorate his lower leg when his mum and dad were on holiday (‘‘Let’s just say I wasn’t the favourite child when I came back’’) – covered by pulling his socks up to his knees.
He had to wear a blazer and tie. He didn’t like it, either: ‘‘The transition was pretty tough, and I remember after the first day my mother picking me up and I was crying.’’
Johnston recalled Mo’unga’s initial discomfort: ‘‘He was just about ready to walk out after the first couple of months because things were a bit tough, but things got easier as they developed.’’
The teenager adapted, and flourished, especially on the sports field. He was a member of the first XV between 2010 and 2012, captained the side in his final season and was named the team’s best player for each season.
Leota, a former Canterbury wing, sensed the danger in stifling Mo’unga’s talents and granted him permission to make his own decisions during games.
‘‘We virtually gave him licence to play what he saw,’’ Leota said. ‘‘We didn’t worry too much about structure and he could see things happen before they happened.
‘‘He was just one of those kids who read the game so well.’’
There was interesting duels during the inter-school games in the city. Injured All Black Damian Mckenzie was the No 10 for Christ’s College, and Hurricanes and Waikato playmaker Fletcher Smith was in the Christchurch Boys team alongside future All Black Anton Lienert-brown.
Mo’unga was always relaxed before and during games with the 1st XV, and little appears to have changed since his progression through the ranks with Canterbury, the Crusaders and the All Blacks.
All Blacks captain Kieran Read has been well placed to observe Mo’unga’s rise to the highest level, having played alongside him at the Crusaders and in tests.
‘‘His game has evolved immensely,’’ Read said. ‘‘Right now he is a person that’s leading our team as a first-five. So we need him to be a leader in our side and that’s what he’s grown to.’’
Not being selected for the NZ secondary school’s team in his final year was a major setback, and Leota thought Mo’unga would have been better served playing in the colts grade when he joined the Linwood club in the Christchurch metro competition after his departure from St Andrew’s.
Leota was happy to be proved wrong; Mo’unga flourished, made his first-class debut for Canterbury and was blooded by the Crusaders in 2016 following the post-world Cup exits of Dan Carter, Colin Slade and Tom Taylor.
The arrival of former Irish test No 10 Ronan O’gara at the Super Rugby club in 2018 led to the duo forming a close working relationship, and as Mo’unga’s skill set improved so did the chances of him replacing Beauden Barrett at first-five for the All Blacks.
Leota isn’t surprised Mo’unga has pushed the celebrated Barrett to the fullback role, having noted how his game had progressed.
‘‘To me, he didn’t run [the ball] until recently,’’ Leota said. ‘‘It was more about getting field position, organising the people around him. It was more about management stuff.
‘‘So there’s been some real development around that level.’’