All Blacks selection: Richie Mo’unga among four No 10s competing for World Cup credibility
Gregor Paul in Baltimore
If there is one thing that is undeniable about the way Dave Rennie has operated so far in his All Blacks’ tenure, it’s that he knows his own mind, how it connects to his plan and where every player sits in his hierarchy.
This is why there are no blurred lines when it comes to his decision to start the fourth test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry with Richie Mo’unga at first five-eighths.
This is not the big moment some might think it is: Ruben Love remains the ruling monarch of New Zealand’s play-making kingdom and Mo’unga is the Prince Regent.
The decision to give Mo’unga his first test start since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final was made well in advance of the third test, and it hasn’t been stage-managed to open the door to hierarchical change.
Love is Rennie’s guy and Mo’unga is being given game time so the coach can have another guy, because the modern game demands that the best teams have at least two, if not three world class No 10s in their midst.
The way New Zealanders frame the play-making stakes needs to be changed. For the past 20 years everything has been viewed as an either-or choice through a competitive lens: Andrew Mehrtens or Carlos Spencer. Dan Carter or Nick Evans. Beauden Barrett or Aaron Cruden. Mo’unga or Barrett.
The hierarchy remains Love one and Mo’unga two, and the narrative needs to be amended to see this not as an internal struggle for play-making supremacy, but as the start of a combination being built.
Rennie needs both – not one or the other – and for the next 12 months he’s likely to balance their game time to ensure he’s got at least two options at No 10.
The change, therefore, is not about form, or any developing doubts about Love and his ability and likely trajectory.
There’s full confidence in the 25-year-old and while he may have had a few wobbly moments in Cape Town and Soweto and arguably didn’t command the game the way the best No 10s can do or nail the critical moments, that’s all been put in the growth basket.
Love is young and inexperienced – he’s only played No 10 regularly for the Hurricanes since this year and hadn’t started a test there for the All Blacks until July – and so tough days at the office are inevitable. Adversity will shape him, develop him and ultimately build him into a better, wiser version of his current self.
He was under the sort of pressure he’s never been under – in actuality given the defensive linespeed of the Springboks and psychologically given the magnitude of the third test – and still, given all that, his performances in Cape Town and Soweto contained many strong elements.
“We talked about it a couple of weeks ago, regardless of the result at Soweto – whether we were up 2-1 or down 2-1 – we were going to start Richie,” Rennie said in explaining Mo’unga’s selection for the Baltimore test.
“He’s been in the environment for a while, he’s got a clear understanding of the game we want to play. [I’m] keen to give him that opportunity.
“Ruben’s gone really well, he’s played the first six tests of the year. But when I spoke to him, I stressed the fact that last week was the biggest test the All Blacks have played since the [2023] World Cup final.
“We trusted him to run the ship ahead of three more experienced 10s. That highlights where we see him. But we’re keen to give Richie a crack and he’s prepared really well this week.”
Where the picture gets more interesting as it pertains to play-making, is the additional presence of Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett in the current squad.
Essentially that means there are four No 10s in the squad – an unusually high number for the All Blacks to carry. They had started the series with the Highlanders-bound Josh Jacomb also in the ranks.
But Rennie is clear that while Barrett and, to a lesser extent, McKenzie, have test experience at No 10, they are primarily viewed as fullbacks now.
“Beauden is not out of the reckoning from a 10 point of view, and Damian plays 10, so between those guys we feel like we have depth at 10 and 15,” Rennie said.
“There’s no doubt, Richie’s come in and been excellent. If you ask Ruben about the help he’s got, Beauden’s been great for him [as have] Damian and Richie.
“For us to win, we need everyone going well. While they’re competing against each other, they’re also helping each other grow. Richie’s got a lot of experience.
“Ruben’s been really smart, he’s got beside a lot of those guys, [and] talked a lot of footy. It’s really good for our group.”
That redeployment of Barrett and McKenzie is perhaps the single greatest shift Rennie has made since he took over. It is the one big hierarchical and positional change he has made to mark his regime as different to that of his predecessor.
Former coach Scott Robertson was using Barrett (as his preferred first five-eighths from September 2024) and McKenzie (as his second-choice No 10), whereas Rennie is now locked in to Love and Mo’unga.
Barrett and McKenzie are deep insurance policies to cover No 10, and if the hierarchy is to change at No 10 it will be Mo’unga usurping Love.
Barrett and McKenzie are competing now to start at fullback, and to complicate the picture to some extent – Will Jordan probably would have started at fullback at Ellis Park had McKenzie not recovered from his ankle injury, and Barrett would have taken a spot on the bench.
So really, it is McKenzie (1), Jordan (2) and Barrett (3) competing at fullback and the question that arises is whether there will be enough room to retain them all when the squad has to be trimmed to its World Cup size of 33?
“The fact that they cover 10 and 15, potentially,” says Rennie to that question, but there is a sense that all four 10s will remain on trial for the next 12 months to prove that they can all justify going to the World Cup.
Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.
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