Richie Mo'unga (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays as a first five-eighth for

Japan Rugby League One Japan Rugby League One (), formerly known as the Top League (), is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, b ...

club Toshiba Brave Lupus and the New Zealand national team.

Early life

Mo'unga was born in Christchurch, to a Tongan-born father and a Samoan-born mother. He 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 1st XV rugby for 3 years and captained them in his senior year (2012). After graduating college, he began playing for Linwood in the local Canterbury senior club rugby competition while at the same time being a member of the Academy.

Club career

He was not named as a full member of Canterbury's squad for the

2013 ITM Cup The 2013 ITM Cup season was the eighth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on 15 August, when Counties Manukau (National Provincial Championship), Counties Man ...

, but in what was just his first year out of school, he was called up to cover injuries and

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

absences and went on to make 8 appearances during the campaign which finished with Canterbury defeating in the Premiership final. He was upgraded to a full squad member in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and played in 10 matches, featuring both at first five-eighth and fullback as Canterbury fell in the tournament's semifinal stage. He again made 10 appearances as Canterbury regained their ITM Cup Premiership title in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

with a 50-20 win over Springboks in the final. As a result of his excellent domestic showings for Canterbury, Mo'unga was named in the Wider Training Group for the

2015 Super Rugby season The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...

. However due to the presence of the likes of

Dan Carter Daniel William Carter (born 5 March 1982) is a New Zealand retired rugby union player. Carter played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He is the highest point scorer in test match rugby, a ...

, Colin Slade and

Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of Punch (magazine), ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literatu ...

in the Crusaders backline, he did not get any game time in his first season at Super Rugby level. Nonetheless, the departures of all three 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 and went on to start all 16 matches during a season which ended with Crusaders losing 42-25 to the in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

in the quarterfinals. The

2016 Mitre 10 Cup The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season was the eleventh season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 18, when North Harbour (National Provincial Championship), North Ha ...

saw him firmly established in the number 10 jersey for Canterbury, as they went on to be crowned New Zealand champions for the 8th time in 9 years. 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 The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

, leading the Crusaders to a 25-17 win and their 8th Super Rugby title. Mo'unga finished the

2017 Mitre 10 Cup The 2017 Mitre 10 Cup season was the twelfth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 17, when North Harbour (National Provincial Championship), North Har ...

season as the leading point scorer in the competition, scoring 160 points in just 10 games for . In the final against , Mo'unga broke the record for the most points scored in a final when he scored 25 points (2 tries, 3 conversions and 3 penalties). He was named Man of the Match. 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. Mo'unga had a poor start to the

2019 Super Rugby season The 2019 Super Rugby season was the 24th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. The 2019 season was the second season using the ...

, beginning the season with a low kicking percentage. Despite his poor start to the season, Mo'unga eventually kicked on, finishing the Crusaders "three peat" season as one of the competition's highest points scorers, second only to

Handré Pollard Handré Pollard (born 11 March 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national team and in the United Rugby Championship. His regular playing pos ...

from the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine * Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

. Mo'unga scored 20 points in the semifinal, as well as 14 points in the final, which was a win over the Jaguares. On the 5 November, Mo'unga played for the South Island in the 2020 North vs South rugby union match. Since the start of 2020 Mo'unga has become one of the best first five-eighth in New Zealand with outstanding performances during Super Rugby, leading the Crusaders to

Super Rugby Aotearoa Super Rugby Aotearoa named the Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa for sponsorship purposes was a professional men's rugby union national club competition in New Zealand. Originally created to supplement the 2020 Super Rugby season, which was suspended due ...

titles in both

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and again in the

2022 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific in Australia and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams f ...

with the side now having won six years in a row.

International career

Mo'unga was a member of the New Zealand Under 20 side, which finished 3rd in the

2014 IRB Junior World Championship The 2014 IRB Junior World Championship was the seventh annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Auckland, New Zealand by rugby's governing body, World Rugby, then known as the Internatio ...

in New Zealand, where he scored 29 points in 5 games. Mo'unga represented the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, on 4 November 2017, at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Mo'unga scored 7 points, scoring the game's opening try and also converting a Barbarian try in the 31st minute. After the

match, Mo'unga joined the All Blacks for their Northern Tour, having warranted a place in the squad through his performance in the Mitre 10 Cup. Mo'unga was named on the bench for a New Zealand side for a midweek game against a French side. He converted a try by lock Patrick Tuipulotu after coming on as a replacement in the second half. This match however did not count as an official test match. Mo'unga made his official test debut on 23 June 2018 against France during the France test series where he replaced

Damian McKenzie Damian Sinclair McKenzie (born 20 April 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a First five-eighth or Fullback for the All Blacks, as well as the Chiefs in Super Rugby and Waikato in the Bunnings NPC. Early life McKenzie was ...

in the 69th minute. The All Blacks won 49–14. Mo'unga made his first ever start for New Zealand during Round 3 of the competition, on 8 September 2018. Mo'unga led 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 temporarily overtake Damian McKenzie, as backup to regular starter

Beauden Barrett Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a First five-eighth or Fullback for the Blues in Super Rugby and Taranaki in the Bunnings NPC. Barrett won the World Rugby Player of the Year awards ...

. 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 Waisake Ratunideuba Naholo (born 8 May 1991 Sigatoka, Fiji) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He previously played for the All Blacks Sevens and on the wing (and occasionally centre) position for London Irish. In May 2022 he signed with Rug ...

, 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 Ardie Suemalo Savea (born 14 October 1993) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a Number 8 or Flanker for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby and Wellington in the Bunnings NPC. He was named the 2023 World Rugby Player of th ...

's last minute try, after the 80th minute, winning the game for the All Blacks, making the final result against South Africa 32-30. 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. Mo'unga remained unable to become a regular starter for New Zealand on the 2018 end of year tour. After replacing McKenzie in the third Bledisloe Cup test, against Australia, in a 37-20 win, Mo'unga earned a start against Japan on 3 November. Mo'unga scored 22 points during New Zealand's 69-31 win over Japan, including his first international try. Mo'unga stayed on for the full 80 minutes, with debutant first-five,

Brett Cameron Brett Dennis Cameron (born 4 October 1996) is a New Zealand rugby union player. A first five-eighth, Cameron plays for at a provincial level and the in the Super Rugby competition. He made his debut for the New Zealand national side, the Al ...

, instead replacing

, although Utility Back,

Jordie Barrett Jordan Matthew Barrett (born 17 February 1997) is a New Zealand-born rugby union player who currently plays as a centre or fullback for Irish side Leinster in the United Rugby Championship. He represents New Zealand internationally. He previous ...

, did kick some goals towards the end of the test against Japan, in which Mo'unga was one of the best performers. He made an appearance in every test on the end of year tour, coming off the bench in the final three, which were wins against England and Italy, as well as a 9-16 loss to Ireland. Named in the All Blacks squad for the

2019 Rugby Championship The 2019 Rugby Championship was the eighth edition of the annual southern hemisphere The Rugby Championship, Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Australia national rugby union team, Australia, South Afric ...

, Mo'unga was named at first-five-eighth after starting fullback Damian Mckenzie was ruled out of the tournament with an ACL injury. The All Blacks starting five-eighth,

was shifted to fullback, as part of a continuation of the dual playmaker system, while

was dropped from the national setup entirely to make room for Mo'unga and Barrett's combination. After New Zealand's 16-16 draw with South Africa and record 26-47 loss to Australia the Mo'unga and Barrett combination was criticised in New Zealand widely. With many fans and media alike both favouring the experience of veteran Ben Smith at fullback, and 2 time player of the year, Beauden Barrett, at first five-eighth. However, Mo'unga grabbed a 14 point haul against Australia in the second

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has varied, as has the n ...

test against Australia for the year, before being replaced by

. The 36-0 win over Australia saw Mo'unga sustain a shoulder injury, which ruled him out for one test, against Tonga. On 28 August 2019, All Blacks Head Coach,

Steve Hansen Sir Stephen William Hansen and High Chief of Vaiala, (born 7 May 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is also the father of Black Ferns assistant coach, Whitney Hansen. He was the head coach of the New Zealand na ...

, named Mo'unga as one of 31 players selected in New Zealand's squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup () was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening matc ...

. Mo'unga was named as the only specialist first five-eighth in the squad, with the injured

, as well as single cap All Blacks,

and

Josh Ioane Joshua R. Ioane (born 11 July 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Connacht in the United Rugby Championship. His position of choice is fly-half. Early life Born in Auckland, Ioane also has family with the Taito's on his Sa ...

missing out. Mo'unga started at first five-eighth throughout the tournament, winning the man of the match award against Canada. After a solid display against Ireland in the quarter-finals, Mo'unga and the All Blacks were knocked out of the 2019 Rugby World Cup at the semi-finals against England, losing 19-7. Mo'unga was retained at first-five for the third place play off, where he led them to a 40-17 victory over Wales.

Personal life

In 2019, Mo'unga and his partner, Sophie Vieceli, announced their engagement on social media. He is the uncle of Fijian first five-eighth Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula.

Honours

New Zealand *

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

Webb Ellis Cup The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the men's Rugby World Cup, the premier competition in men's international rugby union. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as being the inventor of rugby foot ...

**Third-place:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

**Runner-up:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

The Rugby Championship The Rugby Championship, formerly known as the Tri Nations Series (1996–2011), is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are traditionally the four highest ran ...

** Champions: 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Crusaders *

Super Rugby champions Super Rugby is the major professional rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere. The competition began as Super 12 in 1996, consisting of 12 teams from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. An extra Australian and South African team ...

: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 * Super Rugby Aotearoa champions: 2020, 2021 Canterbury *

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship (NP ...

winners: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 Toshiba Brave Lupus * Japan Rugby League One – Division 1: 2023–2024, 2024–2025

References

External links

* *
NZ Rugby History profile

Japan Rugby Player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mounga, Richie 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 sportspeople of Tongan descent New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand international rugby union players 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Japan