Barrett must
Aaron Smith called Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga wizards and who would disagree. Alone they are exceptional, together the possibilities seem almost infinite. Dumbledore and Dumbledee, if you like.
But the wizardry is not the problem for Steve Hansen. It’s a question of power. It’s the resolution of the once and future king.
On Saturday there was no doubt as to the identity of the leader of the All Blacks on the field. It was Beauden Barrett. You could see it in the way he was talking in the sheds at halftime. You could hear in the things he said after the match as he talked astutely about holding depth on the outside.
And of course Barrett, world player of the year in 2016 and, ahem, 2017, has earned the crown. But where does that leave Mo’unga? No side can be successful with a subservient 10. Mo’unga is very much the onfield leader at the Crusaders. It’s there in his body language. Mo’unga exudes a confidence in his supremacy.
And that’s what the All Blacks need from him. They need the man who would be king. They need the popinjay, the man who would strut his stuff upon the stage.
Revealingly Mo’unga said after the game, ‘‘I looked to him (Barrett) and he gave me a lot of ideas and words of wisdom around things we needed to work on and focus on in the next stage of the game. For me, that’s just priceless. Someone I can lean on and bounce things off.
‘‘It’s a challenging thing and it’s still something I’m trying to get to grips with, knowing that I want to take some opportunities, but also knowing some of the strike power we have out wide as well with the likes of Beauden. He showed some awesome glimpses of getting on the outside and showing his pace, which was exciting to see.’’
I am not hearing the cheeky
voice of Crusaders’ Mo’unga in any of that. When he is in the red and black Mo’unga feels he is in family. There is a humility that underpins all he says, but the surface is swagger and humour and insight. That is the voice that the All Blacks somehow need to hear without undermining Barrett.
When Barry John, who would be christened the King by the New Zealand media, first entered the Wales side, he was not an immediate success. John first came on for David Watkins, the captain of the Lions. John didn’t even feel like a prince. He was more a vassal. John’s next cap for Wales came against Scotland and he again played poorly.
But the moment John went back home to Llanelli his genius flourished once again. And so it is for Mo’unga. In talents and temperament I think he is the closest player I have seen to John in the subsequent 45 years. And he needs to be treasured, just as Carwyn James treasured John and just as Scott Robertson has treasured Mo’unga.
Because the player we saw against South Africa was a shade of the player we see for the Crusaders week in week out. Of