Mo’unga back in driving seat as All Blacks look to sweep Fijians
Richie Mo’unga has won the opening round with Beauden Barrett in New Zealand’s playmaking duel and will hold the reins for the All Blacks as they look to sweep the Fiji series with victory in Hamilton tomorrow.
The fly-half rivalry has triggered huge debate among New Zealand fans after Barrett was used as a second play-maker at fullback last season and Mo’unga given the number 10 jersey.
With Mo’unga rested from the opener against Fiji, twice World Rugby Player of the Year Barrett started at fly-half in the 57-23 win in Dunedin but came off with a black eye and drew only lukewarm praise in New Zealand media.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster said Mo’unga deserved first crack at fly-half but denied his mind was made up for the long haul.
“It’s shaping up just nicely,” Foster told reporters yesterday of the play-makers’ rivalry.
“It’s not like we’re trying to design a big boxing match with one against the other -- we’re trying to grow our 10s in terms of understanding how we play.
“I’d give Richie the points based on the first two games but, to be fair, we always expected that,” added Foster. “Beauden made a lot of really good decisions (against Fiji) -- his instincts were probably a fraction off and that’s why we’re keen to keep playing him and give him more time. “I was really impressed with a lot of his game management and to me he’s not far off where we need him to be.” Despite the winning margin in Dunedin, the All Blacks’ performance failed to impress many of the country’s hard-marking fans or help Foster win over sceptics after his patchy first season in charge last year.
Vern Cottercoached Fiji, however, were feted for giving the All Blacks more of a test than expected while missing a number of key players due to Covid-19-related travel curbs.