Richie’s frozen foot ready to fire
‘‘I couldn’t really control the ball. I think with my leftfoot being numb I couldn’t really feel it.’’ Richie Mo’unga
Richie Mo’unga’s three missed penalty goals might have doomed the Crusaders on another night, and he knows it.
It’s playoffs time and leaving nine points on the field – as Mo’unga did during last weekend’s 17-0 quarterfinal win against the Highlanders in Christchurch – could be the difference between winning an eighth Super Rugby title or not.
The 23-year-old first five-eighth shouldn’t have to deal with the same atrocious conditions against the Chiefs in Saturday night’s semifinal at AMI Stadium as he did last weekend.
That can only please Mo’unga, who lined up what appeared to be a trio of straight-forward kicks from about 35m against the Highlanders.
But moments after booting the ball into the frigid and wet Christchurch air with his right foot, he could only look up and watch each attempt wobble wide of the posts like a limp paper dart.
He admitted after the game the southerly wind and heavy rain rendered his body numb for about 70 minutes of the game.
That – combined with a boggy surface – also hindered his planting foot.
‘‘I couldn’t really control the ball. I think with my left-foot being numb I couldn’t really feel it.
‘‘I think that was a huge factor,’’ Mo’unga said.
‘‘As a goal-kicker, I always try and get them over but [Saturday] was a bit tough and hopefully next week it’s not as bad.’’
Mo’unga did slot two conversions – both tougher kicks than his misses – and a penalty he could have under-armed over in the shutout win, but was relieved the lame ducks didn’t come back to bite.
‘‘It’s finals footy, you’ve got to make the most of it.
‘‘It could have been different so I’m pretty lucky that our forwards dominated and we were up by quite a bit.’’
The weather forecast for the semifinal against the Chiefs is fine, although it will no doubt be a typically cold July night in the Garden City.
Put your house on Mo’unga spending plenty of time on his goalkicking during the week as the Crusaders bid to make their first final since 2014.
While the Crusaders beat the Chiefs 31-24 in a thriller in Fiji in May, the Hamilton-based side has had the wood on the red and blacks in recent years.
That includes winning semifinals in Hamilton in 2012-13.
However, if the Chiefs are to extend their season this year, they will have to do something which has never been done – beat the Crusaders in Christchurch in a playoff game.
Just like last weekend’s quarterfinal against the Highlanders, Mo’unga said the team was treating each game as a final.
‘‘Coming into that game there was no word ‘quarter’. Final is the key word.
‘‘You don’t get second chances, so it’s about making the most of every opportunity and it comes down to a few key moments.’’