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Mo'unga thought he did a 'good job' at halfback until de Groot's feedback

Richie Mo'unga in action for the All Blacks. Photo by Lionel Hahn/Getty Images

With No 9 Aaron Smith yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on, the All Blacks decided to move first five-eighth Richie Mo’unga into halfback during their quarter-final clash with Ireland.

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New Zealand spent the vast majority of their 10 minutes without Smith on defence, opting for a high volume of kicks to see them through the spell while down a man.

One try to their opponent’s halfback Jamison Gibson-Park closed the lead to one just before halftime, but stoic defence saw the Kiwis survive all further efforts from the Irish as Smith re-entered the fixture six minutes after the break.

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New Zealand post-match presser 14-10-2023

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New Zealand post-match presser 14-10-2023

Mo’unga’s passing is of course world-class as the All Blacks’ preferred playmaker and the 29-year-old even put up a box kick, steering the team relatively seamlessly through the spell in his few touches behind the ruck.

Where his skillset couldn’t save him though was at scrum time.

Having survived a cross-field kick just inches from their own try line, the All Blacks received a scrum on the five-metre line and Mo’unga was tasked with the scrum feed.

“At halftime, I had to ask Nuggy (Aaron Smith), I was like ‘how do I put the ball into the scrum?’ I asked him that,” Mo’unga told the Front Row Daily Show.

“He showed me, he was like ‘wait for Codie (Taylor’s) foot to come out and aim for his bottom sprig and he’ll just kick it back.’

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“I’ve never squatted so low, in the scrum, I got real low and I was waiting, Codie’s foot took ages. I thought I did a good job and I came back and Grooter (Ethan de Groot) was like ‘you could have left it longer!’ I was like bro, I didn’t even know that was a possibility.”

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It’s hard to imagine a worse time to feed your first scrum, five meters from your own try line in a quarter-final against the world’s number one ranked team leading by just one point, but in winning the scrum and making a clean exit, the All Blacks again proved their composure under pressure.

It was Mo’unga who had just denied an Irish try by challenging Peter O’Mahony in the air for Gibson-Parks’ kick, giving up significant height in the contest.

“I said it earlier in the week, we’re playing Ireland, the best team in the world but we wanted to be the best team today,” Mo’unga added.

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Knockout

New Zealand
South Africa
11 - 12
Final
Argentina
New Zealand
6 - 44
SF1
England
South Africa
15 - 16
SF2
Wales
Argentina
17 - 29
QF1
Ireland
New Zealand
24 - 28
QF2
England
Fiji
30 - 24
QF3
France
South Africa
28 - 29
QF4

Smith’s yellow wasn’t the only card the All Blacks received, Codie Taylor was sent off in the 63rd minute for collapsing a driving maul which consequently resulted in a penalty try.

The All Blacks had to replace the hooker in that instance and Dane Coles took the field. Second five-eight Jordie Barrett commended the effort in the sheds after the match.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “A couple of yellow cards, plenty of what ifs and we defended three or four minutes in one phase play at the end there and Sammy Whitelock came up with the plum. So, unbelievably proud.

“We had a lot of trust in our defensive system in the end, we’ve been building that for a little while so it’s super special.”

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Comments

6 Comments
I
Ian 431 days ago

A great game by our boys but am slow on saying the same for referee’s consistency in games - especially knock ons, players taking out players not part of the ruck or maul, and not adhering to line out and kicks not being taken from the mark!

R
Ritea 431 days ago

It’s okay Mounga. You gave it a go. Go Beaudine and bring back your style of play. Very effective and a winner. Go Ian, NZ has your back.

P
Paul 432 days ago

Here’s me assuming they practice likely scenarios!

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G
GrahamVF 1 hour ago
Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

"has SA actually EVER helped to develop another union to maturity like NZ has with Japan," yes - Argentina. You obviously don't know the history of Argentinian rugby. SA were touring there on long development tours in the 1950's

We continued the Junior Bok tours to the Argentine through to the early 70's

My coach at Grey High was Giepie Wentzel who toured Argentine as a fly half. He told me about how every Argentinian rugby club has pictures of Van Heerden and Danie Craven on prominent display. Yes we have developed a nation far more than NZ has done for Japan. And BTW Sa players were playing and coaching in Japan long before the Kiwis arrived. Fourie du Preez and many others were playing there 15 years ago.


"Isaac Van Heerden's reputation as an innovative coach had spread to Argentina, and he was invited to Buenos Aires to help the Pumas prepare for their first visit to South Africa in 1965.[1][2] Despite Argentina faring badly in this tour,[2] it was the start of a long and happy relationship between Van Heerden and the Pumas. Izak van Heerden took leave from his teaching post in Durban, relocated to Argentina, learnt fluent Spanish, and would revolutionise Argentine play in the late 1960s, laying the way open for great players such as Hugo Porta.[1][2] Van Heerden virtually invented the "tight loose" form of play, an area in which the Argentines would come to excel, and which would become a hallmark of their playing style. The Pumas repaid the initial debt, by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park, and emerged as one of the better modern rugby nations, thanks largely to the talents of this Durban schoolmaster.[1]"


After the promise made by Junior Springbok manager JF Louw at the end of a 12-game tour to Argentina in 1959 – ‘I will do everything to ensure we invite you to tour our country’ – there were concerns about the strength of Argentinian rugby. South African Rugby Board president Danie Craven sent coach Izak van Heerden to help the Pumas prepare and they repaid the favour by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park.

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