Dave Rennie’s verdict on Richie Mo’unga’s All Blacks return and why he isn’t calling in a replacement for injured rookie
All Blacks fly-half Richie Mo'unga and an inset of head coach Dave Rennie.
All Black boss Dave Rennie has reacted to his side’s narrow victory over the Lions at Ellis Park and has issued a verdict on Richie Mo’unga’s performance in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry match.
New Zealand were made to work hard for their 41-35 victory over the Joburgers, needing four unanswered second-half tries to secure the win.
Dave Rennie on Richie Mo’unga and the Lions
Speaking after the game, Rennie addressed the performance of Mo’unga, who donned the All Blacks jersey for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final defeat to the Springboks, provided an update on loose forward Anton Segner, and hailed the shift of Ethan Blackadder.
The All Blacks boss was pleased that his side was able to come from behind to seal the victory but also praised the Lions for pushing his side all the way in the touring match.
“The Lions got off the fly at the start of both halves,” Rennie said.
“I think our boys showed a lot of character to fight our way back into that. We created so many opportunities. You look at the numbers, we dominated defenders beaten, line breaks, offloads, and so on. But we probably didn’t do the obvious enough.
“At times we threw a miss pass when just going through the hands and sitting defenders down and picking them off, but you’ve got to give credit to the Lions. They came to play tonight. They got off to a good start; they got the crowd into the game, and at 35-17 we’re under a bit of heat. So I was really pleased with the composure and our ability to grind out that last sort of 30 minutes and finish in front.”
Having joined the squad in South Africa following Billy Proctor’s injury, Mo’unga got his first opportunity to represent the All Blacks on Tuesday evening since signing a deal to return to New Zealand.
Commenting on his performance, Rennie said: “I think he had a lot of nice touches.
“He’ll be better for that time on the park, and it’s not just about him jumping into the 10 jersey, but it’s the connection with everyone around you that you may not have played a lot of footy with. So look, we’re really pleased with his contribution; he’d be better for it.”
Anton Segner update and Ethan Blackadder’s performance
One player who won’t get another chance in the black jersey during the tour is Segner, as Rennie confirmed that the newly-capped forward underwent surgery in Johannesburg to wash out an infection in his ankle joint and won’t recover in time for any of the three remaining Test matches.
The 25-year-old was set to come off the bench in the first Test against the Springboks but was a late withdrawal from the matchday 23.
“He had a little bit of keyhole surgery just to wash out an infection,” Rennie said.
“He will come with us to Cape Town, but he won’t take part in the rest of the tour.
“We feel that now that we’re beyond the midweek games, we’ve got enough loose forwards to pick from.”
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
One of the back-rowers who is pressing for a place in the Test team is Crusaders star Ethan Blackadder, who scored twice in the victory over the Lions and was one of the standout players in Johannesburg.
“I’m keen to go back and look at it, but he was all over the park,” Rennie replied when asked about the 31-year-old’s performance.
“He got his hands on a lot of ball. He carried a lot for us and made a lot of tackles and support play. He’s got a big engine; Ethan is all arms and legs, but he had a massive impact on the game tonight.”
