ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Sport
SELECTION STANDOFF
NZ Rugby has confirmed that 56-test All Black Richie Mo’unga will remain ineligible for national selection until he completes what officials describe as “the sacred rite of NPC participation.”
The decision means Mo’unga must first return to play for Canterbury in the National Provincial Championship , a competition NZ Rugby now considers the “true final exam of elite readiness.”
“Test rugby and multiple Super Rugby titles are one thing,” explained NZ Rugby CEO Steve Lancaster. “But has he done it on a cold Friday night in Invercargill with 4,200 people watching? I don’t think so, and we need to see that from him first.” Lancaster confirmed, despite Mo’unga winning nearly every competition he’s competed in during the past decade.
Despite Mo’unga already being contracted to NZ Rugby with Canterbury and the Crusaders, the rule ensures he must trundle out for Canterbury in the NPC first, which will then catapult him back into the frame for AB’s selection.
All Blacks coach Dave Rennie was blunt when asked about the situation.
“If selection was purely about current ability, he’d be in my squad,” Rennie said. “But NZ Rugby’s introduced a new weird layer where you have to prove you can survive NPC rugby for a couple of games before being considered for the black jersey. He’s contracted to NZ Rugby as well for crying out loud!”
“In most countries, if you’ve mastered international rugby, you don’t get sent back to do regional exams,” Rennie continued to explain. “But here we are effectively saying: ‘Yes, you’ve done it at the highest level many times before, but have you tried doing it against North Harbour in drizzle? It’s a bit of a virtue signalling exercise if you ask me.”
More to come.
