Richie Mo'unga had an avenue to be available for the All Blacks in South Africa - and he still does

Wednesday, 13 May 2026

ANALYSIS: The hand-wringing about Richie Mo’unga being blocked from returning to the All Blacks in July and for the tour of South Africa is based on a half-truth.

Mo’unga doesn’t need to play in the NPC to become All Blacks-eligible again - he needed to sign a longer-term deal with New Zealand Rugby in the first place.

That’s because NZ Rugby judges a player’s commitment to New Zealand not just on how long they’ve been away, but how long they are prepared to stay for when they return.

And, as former NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson told The Post last August, Mo’unga was given the chance to do just that and make a speedier return to the All Blacks.

Read more:

• New Zealand Rugby says Richie Mo'unga turned down longer-term contract that would have sped up return to All Blacks

• New Zealand under-20s have challenges but South Africa performance shows talent pipeline hasn’t dried up

• Super Rugby team of the week: Hurricanes midfielder Billy Proctor sends a message to All Blacks coach Dave Rennie

• Blues, All Blacks utility back Stephen Perofeta set to join Yokohama Eagles

“We obviously had a conversation with Richie him being able to commit for longer, but ultimately this is Richie's decision to sign through to the World Cup, which we're really pleased about,” Robinson said.

“But it [the contract] doesn't make that threshold of him being able to come back [to the All Blacks] immediately.

“We're really comfortable with that and Richie's really understanding of that and we're moving on.

“I don't want to get into the details of the conversations, but we would have been open for him for signing for longer.”

The Post understands that avenue is still open for Mo’unga.

So, if he rang up Dave Rennie tomorrow and said, “Mate, Graham Henry’s return to the fold has got me fizzed up and I want to sign until 2029” then you can guarantee NZ Rugby would oblige and he’d find his way into the All Blacks squad for South Africa, and possibly even for the July tests.

As it is, Mo’unga will return to New Zealand rugby via the NPC. But even the significance of that has been lost due to the country’s obsession with the All Blacks.

Check out Canterbury’s first two games of the NPC. A home fixture against Auckland at the new stadium in Christchurch and then a highly likely Ranfurly Shield challenge against Otago - with Mo’unga at No 10.

TVNZ executives will be thinking that Christmas has come early as they look forward to the first year of their new broadcast deal with a tournament that has rebounded over the past few years.

Mo’unga clearly wants to keep his options open and has re-signed only until the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

That means he won’t feature in South Africa unless there are injuries.

That’s a shame because he’s a quality player, but he was always in control of his own destiny when he re-signed with NZ Rugby.