Destroying Richie Mo’unga
Sometimes I wonder whether Ian Foster or Beauden Barrett is really the man in charge.
Mo’unga seems to have to become a different person every game. Against England the coaches decided Jordie would come into 10 a lot and Mo’unga would play out the back. It meant a lot of the possession which Mo’unga got was sideways ball, when you want your best passer taking it square to the posts.
There was also a moment in the first half which emphasised Carter’s point about continuity of selection. Mo’unga was about to receive the ball inside his 22m when Jordie called for a chip ahead and charged forward. Unfortunately Jordie’s timing was off and he went too early, so Mo’unga then had to pull out of the kick and gave the worst pass I have ever seen him throw.
There was an instant in the second half which again emphasised why you want your 10 to have absolute authority. The All Blacks were 22-6 up with the clock approaching 70 minutes and were under advantage for a penalty against Billy Vunipola when Beauden Barrett snapped out an instant drop goal.
It was a decision that Gatland criticised heavily after the match. Gatland wondered why, off that advantage, did the All Blacks not run down the clock for two minutes and go for the try. Carter completely agreed.
It may seem a small point, but it wasn’t to Gatland. He felt it cost the All Blacks victory. The game was there to be put away and a poor decision by Barrett had squandered the chance. It is these details under these coaches which point to why the All Blacks have coughed up so many 14-point leads (against South Africa, Australia, Japan, Scotland and now England) in the previous six months.
It will keep on happening until they put utter faith in one No 10 and pair him consistently with a nine and a 12. If that’s Mo’unga, then Beaudy doesn’t start. He comes on as a star impact player and my, do the All Blacks need to improve their bench. Beaudy’s been struggling a bit as a 15, in any case, a symptom possibly of that awful concussion he suffered against Ireland last year.
Beaudy sparkled when he had Sir Wayne Smith (well, the knighthood’s not far away) as his consigliere. And Mo’unga was at his best when he had Ronan O’Gara squaring him up at the Crusaders. These coaches are each former 10s themselves.
Mo’unga remains one of the greatest talents of his generation, but the All Blacks coaches could scarcely have done more to stuff him up over the previous five years. So it is time to bring a horse whisperer like a Carter or a Smith or even an O’Gara in on a fulltime basis. It is time to decide on a 12 and pick him through to the World Cup. It is time to give Mo’unga or Beaudy his ego back and let one of them flourish as sole monarch.