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Richie Mo’unga was hailed as the difference maker in a breakthrough performance as the New Zealand media reacted to the All Blacks’ 33-25 win in the Bledisloe Cup opener on Saturday night.
Mo’unga was preferred in the No.10 jersey to Beauden Barrett after they shared duties in the Pasifika Series and was instrumental as well as scoring a blistering intercept try and out-kicking his young Wallabies rival Noah Lolesio.
“Just as he did for the Crusaders all season, Richie Mo’unga dug deep into his bag of tricks to turn the first Bledisloe Cup Test and push the All Blacks into an unassailable position,” wrote Gregor Paul in the New Zealand Herald.
“It was clunk, clunk, clunk for 50 minutes and then, with little warning the All Blacks were suddenly in fifth gear, punching big holes when they ran from deep and monstering the Wallabies all over the field.
“And the spark for this incredible transformation came from Mo’unga. That’s been his special thing all year – finding a way to produce one brilliant moment that changes the shape and direction of the game.
“Time and again he rescued the Crusaders with something brilliant, but this was the first time he’s had that same effect at Test level.”
Paul said the game was bogged down before Mo’unga blew it open.
“This was a game that was going nowhere after 50 minutes and needed a hero to break it free from the tyranny of mediocrity,” Paul wrote.
“Mo’unga was the sole beacon of light at times in a meandering, error-strewn Test that had more penalties than it did successful passes and a stuttering fragility about it until the All Blacks No. 10 flicked that magic switch and made everything flow and stick for long enough to get the victory over the line.”
Liam Napier, writing in the NZ Herald, said the All Blacks didn’t have to get out of third gear to take a firm grip on the Bledisloe Cup once more.
“Being a Wallabies supporter must be disheartening, particularly when it comes to Eden Park,” Napier wrote. “From an Australian perspective, it’s where eternal hope gets cremated, time after time.”
But he felt the All Blacks had to take their game up a notch or two.
“Emerging from three Tests in July, the All Blacks selected their top side for the first time this season and it’s clear those combinations are a long way from gelling. The attack at times was far too lateral, struggling to click other than a couple of Rieko Ioane bursts from the left edge.” Napier wrote.
Marc Hinton, writing for stuff.nz, described the game as “somewhat two-paced, scratchy at the start, off-key at the finish but had a high-quality four-try chunk in the middle that in the end delivered the all-important victory.
“The Wallabies looked well off the pace for much of the match, but will take a lot from their whirlwind finish,” Hinton wrote.
“First five Noah Lolesio’s five missed shots at goal were costly in the end, but fullback Tom Banks, wing Andrew Kellaway and the always fiery skipper Michael Hooper led a promising enough effort.
“They are not a million miles away from a series-levelling display.”
(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
David Long, writing for stuff.nz, said the decision between Mo’unga or Barrett at No.10 “is one that divides the nation, just like the one between Andrew Mehrtens and Carlos Spencer once did.”
“When Ian Foster was asked on Thursday why he picked Mo’unga rather than Barrett as his starter for Bledisloe I, the All Blacks coach bluntly said: “we just believe he’s right for this game.”
“Well, Foster was correct, even if he chose not to be very eloquent with his words,” wrote Long.
He complained about the standard of the game in the first half as “the Wallabies couldn’t win a lineout and the All Blacks couldn’t hold onto the ball.
“Put it down to rustiness from both teams, the wind, or nerves, but this wasn’t the kind of rugby to warrant over $200 for a decent ticket.
“The All Blacks didn’t play well, but the Wallabies were worse, and it would be concerning for Foster at how they got caught out twice in the first half from Wallabies lineouts.
“Whoever it was who decided to change things up with the Wallabies lineout is a genius. After losing their first three, they caught the All Blacks napping twice just before the break, firstly with a short one to the front, then a long range throw to the back, which resulted in a try to winger Andrew Kellaway.
“But the second half was a Mo’unga masterclass, just like next weekend will probably be too.”
Paul was not convinced that next Saturday’s match at the same venue is a fait accompli.
“The All Blacks can’t afford to finish or start as badly as they did again,” he wrote.
“The lack of flow and cohesion in the first half was on the alarming side. The All Blacks came into the first Bledisloe Cup Test last year cold – without having had any kind of game behind them, which could serve as an excuse for their rustiness.
“But this year they had the Pasifika Series, three games, two of which were solid workouts, to generate some kind of structure and basis from which they could work.
“There was scant evidence of that, though in the first 50 minutes which bordered on being unwatchable.
“Mo’unga saved them this week, but the All Blacks need to be more than a one-man show.”
All Blacks coach Ian Foster gave the Wallabies credit for pushing the All Blacks to the end.
“It’s the first test in a Bledisloe, and they were always going to be a massive test. They came over here very well prepared and threw everything at us,” said Foster.
“The way we came back and really squeezed it was pleasing, and we were doing really well at 33-8. Then it was disappointing … we take a lot of pride in how we finish and we didn’t finish that well.
“There are some things we’ll take away and work on and people will talk about that all week. But at the end of the day it’s 1-0, and we’ll go into next week with a nice list of things to improve.
“[The Wallabies] are a good young team, playing with plenty of passion and they’ll take a lot of confidence from the way they finished that game and we’ll take a lot of confidence from the result. I guess both camps will go away and figure things out.
“It was a great learning curve for us. You talk about their young backs and young midfielders, but David [Havili] has played his first big Test in midfield and he’ll learn a lot from that too. There’s a bit of growing in both camps at the moment.”