Richie Mo’unga will remain with Japanese club Toshiba for the entirety of his three-year contract, meaning a return to the All Blacks will not come until the middle of next year at the earliest.
1News can reveal that talks between first-five Mo’unga and New Zealand Rugby about a potential return ahead of the three domestic Tests against France in July broke down late last year.
It is understood that All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson and NZR chief executive Mark Robinson met Mo’unga and representatives from Toshiba, all of whom were open to the possibility of the 30-year-old coming home a year early, but that no deal could be reached.
Mo’unga’s agent Cam McIntyre, of LittleGIANT Sports, was reluctant to get into details but told 1News: “Discussions stalled at the end of last season”. He added: “There is currently no change to the terms of Richie’s contract [at Toshiba].”
A source said Mo’unga, chased hard by Robertson, with whom he won seven championships at the Crusaders, was disappointed by the developments and how they may reflect on him, but is content in Tokyo.
Toshiba’s representatives may also be nonplussed, as the only thing stopping Mo’unga from playing for the All Blacks is NZR’s own eligibility rules.
1News has contacted NZR for comment.
Robertson would have been keen to embed Mo’unga in his starting side for the Tests against France in Dunedin, Wellington and Hamilton in July. But a bigger priority would have been having his favourite No.10 start against the Springboks at Eden Park on September 6, a huge challenge for the All Blacks which will put the 40-year unbeaten record at their fortress on the line.
Mo’unga, who has played 56 Tests and became the All Blacks’ incumbent No.10 under Robertson’s predecessors Sir Steve Hansen and Ian Foster via his game management and electric attack, helped Toshiba to a League One championship in his first season.
After five rounds this season, the club known as the Brave Lupus are in second place behind the Robbie Deans coached Saitama Wild Knights.
Mo’unga’s last Test was the World Cup final defeat to the Springboks in Paris in late 2023.
A year earlier he surprised many in the rugby world when announcing he had signed a three-season deal with Toshiba, said to be worth at least $2million a year.
But once Robertson was confirmed as Foster’s replacement in 2023, Mo’unga became more open to a return to New Zealand.
This was evident last year before the Test against England in Dunedin when he told Stuff on a visit to the city to support his countrymen: “I signed for three years with Toshiba and my intentions were, ‘Yep, I'm going do the three years’.
“[But] obviously with ‘Razor’ [Robertson] coming along and saying he'd love to have me back home, it's just given me another opportunity to think about where I'm at with my footy.
“I obviously had a really successful year in my first year and I’m trying to weigh up the options of what would be best for my family, but also what would be best for my footy as well.
“So, those conversations are still happening and to be honest there'll be no rush before we all come to a decision.”
The door has now slammed shut on that and the consequences may be far reaching, with Blues first-five Harry Plummer citing Mo’unga’s potential return as a factor in him signing a long-term deal with French club Clermont.
Plummer, 26, guided the Blues to a championship last June and made his All Blacks debut off the bench against Australia in Sydney in September.
Plummer will leave after this Super Rugby season, which starts next month. He told the Herald last month: “There’s talk of Richie Mo’unga coming back. That didn’t seal my fate but it weighed on me a little bit.”
It means Robertson’s options for the No. 10 jersey this year will likely remain Damian McKenzie, Beauden Barrett and Stephen Perofeta.
McKenzie started the first eight Tests of Robertson’s inaugural year in the top job but, after a mixed performance against the Wallabies in Sydney, when the All Blacks let slip a 28-7 lead after 26 minutes to scrape home 31-28, Robertson changed tack.
Barrett started at No.10 the next week, when the All Blacks broke their Wellington “curse” to win 33-13, after which the 33-year-old became the incumbent first-five.
McKenzie, 29, played well in New Zealand’s victory over Ireland in Dublin when Barrett was unavailable due to a concussion suffered in the win over England at Twickenham, but Barrett won back his place for the final two Tests of the year.
The 30-29 defeat to France in Paris and 29-11 win over Italy in Milan meant the All Blacks finished the year with 10-win, four-loss record.
Watch Scotty Stevenson and Patrick McKendry discuss the latest on Mo'unga on TVNZ+
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