Sir John Kirwan claims Richie Mo’unga will ‘for sure’ play in South Africa as Springboks legend predicts Rassie Erasmus-esque ploy from Dave Rennie
Returning All Blacks fly-half Richie Mo'unga and New Zealand legend Sir John Kirwan.
Sir John Kirwan is absolutely certain that Richie Mo’unga will feature for the All Blacks in South Africa despite NZ Rugby’s firm stance.
The fly-half is set to return to New Zealand following the conclusion of Japan Rugby League One but, in accordance with NZR’s laws, he will not be eligible until later in the year.
Mo’unga’s campaign with Toshiba Brave Lupus will finish in early June at the very latest, well before the start of the Nations Championship.
How Mo’unga differs to Savea
However, due to the playmaker’s decision to agree a three-year contract with Toshiba, rather than remain with the governing body, he firstly has to play for Canterbury in the NPC before being considered for the All Blacks.
His situation is therefore different to the likes of Ardie Savea, who re-signed with New Zealand Rugby and had a sabbatical clause put in, allowing him to move to Japan on a short-term deal.
There is one way the 31-year-old can be selected, though, and that is through injury, and Kirwan expects head coach Dave Rennie to use that avenue to pick him.
“That’s going to happen. He’s going to play for his club and he will be in Africa, don’t even think about it,” he said on the Rivals podcast alongside Springboks legend Victor Matfield.
“What would happen back in the old days is they would say: ‘JK, just pull a hammy and just fake it’ and Richie plays [for Canterbury] and he’s available the next day.”
Matfield compared it to the 2023 Rugby World Cup where Rassie Erasmus used an injury to hooker Malcolm Marx as an opportunity to call up fly-half Handre Pollard.
“How many players are coming over? There’s 45 so there will be injury. We saw it in the previous World Cup with Malcolm Marx getting injured and Handre Pollard coming in, so I think we can maybe see the same thing there,” he said.
Steve Lancaster is the new NZ Rugby CEO and recently doubled down on the Mo’unga situation, but Kirwan doesn’t believe that is the end of the matter.
“He came on television the other night and said: ‘We want to stick to the rules’, but I think in this case no one would give a toss if you bent the rule,” he said.
“I think he will be on that tour, for sure.”
All Blacks 10 competition
Perhaps Mo’unga’s biggest obstacle to going on tour is the competition at fly-half with Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie established All Blacks performers, while Ruben Love is seen as the rising star.
Love has enjoyed an exceptional season for Super Rugby Pacific leaders the Hurricanes and may challenge that experienced duo for a starting spot at 10.
“This sort of player that can play 10 and 15 is really, really important for the South African tour, the only thing I would say about 10 is I think it takes a little bit longer than it used to in the past to really run a football team,” he said.
“It’s so organised now, you’ve got to know 250 moves. But I think he’s a great talent and it’s good that he’s playing.
“One of the saddest things for me last year was that he just didn’t get a crack until that Welsh game and then he actually scored a try.”
