Richie Mo'unga

Richie Mo'unga
Full name Richard Mo'unga
Date of birth (1994-05-25) 25 May 1994
Place of birth Christchurch, New Zealand
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 83 kg (13 st 1 lb; 183 lb)
School Riccarton High School
St. Andrew's College
University University of Canterbury
Notable relative(s) Simon Mo’unga Norma Armstrong Ravula Tonga Mo’unga Frances Mounga
Rugby union career
Position(s) First five-eighth, Fullback
Current team Canterbury, Crusaders
All Black No. 1167
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013– Canterbury 49 (336)
2016– Crusaders 41 (462)
Correct as of 8 August 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014 New Zealand U20 5 (29)
2016–2017 Barbarian F.C. 4 (30)
2017– New Zealand 3 (16)
Correct as of 29 September 2018

Richard Fou'a Mo'unga (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a first five-eighth or fullback for Canterbury in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Crusaders in the international Super Rugby competition.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early career

Mo'unga was initially educated at Riccarton High School in his hometown before being offered a scholarship at St. Andrew's College where he played u15 in 2009 then first XV rugby for 3 years and captained them in his senior year (2012). After graduating from high school he began playing for Linwood in the local Canterbury senior club rugby competition while at the same time being a member of the Canterbury Academy.[1][5][6]

Senior career

He wasn't named as a full member of Canterbury's squad for the 2013 ITM Cup, but in what was just his first year out of high school, he was called up to cover injuries and All Black absences and went on to make 8 appearances during the campaign which culminated in Canterbury defeating Wellington in the Premiership final. He was upgraded to a full-squad member in 2014 and played in 10 matches, featuring both at first five-eighth and fullback as Canterbury fell at the tournament's semi-final stage.

He again made 10 appearances as Canterbury regained their ITM Cup Premiership title in 2015 with a 25-23 win over Auckland in the final while 2016 saw him firmly entrenched in the number 10 jersey for Canterbury as they went on to be crowned New Zealand champions for the 8th time in 9 years.[2]

He finished the 2017 season as the leading point scorer, scoring 160 points in just 10 games for Canterbury. In the Grand Final against Tasman Mo'unga broke the record for the most points scored in a final when he scored 25 points (2 tries, 3 conversions & 3 penalties). He was named Man of the match.

Super Rugby

As a result of his excellent domestic showings for Canterbury, Mo'unga was named in the Crusaders Wider Training Group for the 2015 Super Rugby season. However owing to the presence of the likes of Dan Carter, Colin Slade and Tom Taylor in the Crusaders backline, he didn't get any game time in his first season at Super Rugby level. Nonetheless, the departures of all 3 players ahead of the 2016 season saw Mo'unga promoted to the full Crusaders squad. He made his debut on 27 February 2016 in a match at home to the Chiefs and went on to start all 16 matches during a season which ended with Crusaders losing 42-25 to the Lions in Johannesburg in the quarter-finals.[2][7] Mo'unga started in all of his 13 games in the 2017 season for the Crusaders. Mo'unga scored 10 points in the 2017 Super Rugby Final in Johannesburg, South Africa against the Lions leading the Crusaders to a 25-17 win and their 8th Super Rugby title. In 2018, Mo’unga started in 12 games for the Crusaders. This included a Man of the Match performance in the Super Rugby Final played in Christchurch, New Zealand where he scored 17 points to lead the Crusaders to their second consecutive title.

International career

Early Career

Mo'unga was a member of the New Zealand Under-20 side which finished 3rd in the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in New Zealand where he scored 29 points in 5 games.[8][9]

Mo'unga represented the Barbarians against New Zealand, on 4th November 2017, at Twickenham Stadium, London. Mo'unga scored 7 points, scoring the game's opening try and also converting a Barbarian try in the 31st minute.

After the Barbarians match, Mo'unga joined the All Blacks for their Northern Tour. Mo'unga was named on the bench for a New Zealand XV side for a midweek game against a French XV. He converted a try from lock Patrick Tuipulotu after coming on as a replacement in the second half.

2018 Season

Mo'unga made his official test debut on 23 June 2018 against France during the France test series where he replaced Damian McKenzie in the 69th minute. The All Blacks won 49–14. Mo'unga's performance against France, as well as his incredible Super Rugby performances, saw him selected for the 2018 Rugby Championship. Mo'unga made his first ever start for New Zealand during Round 3 of the competition, on 8th September 2018. Mo'unga lead the All Blacks to a 46-24 victory over Argentina by scoring 16 of the team's points. Mo'unga only missed one kick on the night and lasted the full 80 minutes.

Mo'unga's starting performance against Argentina saw him overtake Damian McKenzie as back-up to regular starter Beauden Barrett. This saw Mo'unga feature off the bench against Argentina and South Africa in the final two rounds of the competition. Mo'unga replaced winger Waisake Naholo in the 51st minute against South Africa, with Ben Smith moved to wing, and Beauden Barrett moved into fullback, to accommodate for Mo'unga at first-five. Mo'unga took kicking duties off Barrett, who had missed a drop goal during the match. Mo'unga converted Ardie Savea's last-minute try, after the 80th minute, winning the game for the All Blacks, making the final result against South Africa 32-30. [10] Mo'unga finished as one of the highest points-scorers of the Rugby Championship, with 24 points. This ranked Mo'unga 6th of all the points-scorers.

Career honours

Canterbury

Canterbury Crusaders

Super Rugby statistics

As of 20 August 2017[2]
SeasonTeamGamesStartsSubMinsTriesConsPensDropsPointsYelRed
2016 Crusaders16160118154124017900
2017 Crusaders1313093623617013300
2018 Crusaders1212088843818015010
Total414103,0051111559046210

References

  1. 1 2 "Richie Mo'unga Canterbury Player Profile". Canterbury Rugby. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Richie Mo'unga Player Statistics". itsrugby. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Richie Mo'unga ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Crusaders 2017 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Richie Mo'unga Crusaders Player Profile". Crusaders Rugby. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "Young gun Mo'unga firing for Crusaders in Super Rugby". Rugby Heaven. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  7. ↑ "BNZ Crusaders team to play the Chiefs". Crusaders. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "NZU20 squad named for IRB JWC2014". All Blacks. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "Richie Mo'unga All Blacks Player Profile". All Blacks. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "'He didn't panic' All Blacks coaches rave over Richie Mo'unga's heroics". TVNZ. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
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