Richie Mo'unga
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Full name | Richard Mo'unga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 Template:Rut Canterbury in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Template:Rut 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 Template:Rut 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 Template:Rut 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 Template:Rut 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 Template:Rut Chiefs and went on to start all 16 matches during a season which ended with Crusaders losing 42-25 to the Template:Rut 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
- National Provincial Championship Champions - 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017
Canterbury Crusaders
- Super Rugby Champions - 2017, 2018
Super Rugby statistics
- As of 20 August 2017[2]
Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Template:Rut Crusaders | 16 | 16 | 0 | 1181 | 5 | 41 | 24 | 0 | 179 | 0 | 0 |
2017 | Template:Rut Crusaders | 13 | 13 | 0 | 936 | 2 | 36 | 17 | 0 | 133 | 0 | 0 |
2018 | Template:Rut Crusaders | 12 | 12 | 0 | 888 | 4 | 38 | 18 | 0 | 150 | 1 | 0 |
Total | 41 | 41 | 0 | 3,005 | 11 | 115 | 59 | 0 | 462 | 1 | 0 |
References
- ^ a b "Richie Mo'unga Canterbury Player Profile". Canterbury Rugby. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d "Richie Mo'unga Player Statistics". itsrugby. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Richie Mo'unga ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Crusaders 2017 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ a b "Richie Mo'unga Crusaders Player Profile". Crusaders Rugby. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Young gun Mo'unga firing for Crusaders in Super Rugby". Rugby Heaven. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "BNZ Crusaders team to play the Chiefs". Crusaders. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ "NZU20 squad named for IRB JWC2014". All Blacks. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "Richie Mo'unga All Blacks Player Profile". All Blacks. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "'He didn't panic' All Blacks coaches rave over Richie Mo'unga's heroics". TVNZ. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- 1994 births
- New Zealand rugby union players
- Canterbury rugby union players
- Crusaders (rugby union) players
- Rugby union fly-halves
- Rugby union fullbacks
- People educated at St Andrew's College, Christchurch
- Living people
- Rugby union players from Christchurch
- New Zealand people of Tongan descent
- New Zealand people of Samoan descent