Richie Mo'unga has cleared the eligibility hurdle for All Blacks selection on Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour after coming off the bench to score a match-winning try for Canterbury against Auckland in Christchurch on Saturday, but the 32-year-old fly-half is refusing to be drawn on whether he will join the touring squad.
Mo'unga entered the fray in the 52nd minute of Canterbury's NPC opener and proved decisive late on, jinking past three defenders in the 78th minute before adding the conversion to seal a 38-31 victory — his first appearance in the competition since 2020.
Having returned from a three-year stint with Toshiba Brave Lupus last month and then managing a calf injury, Mo'unga was required to play provincial rugby before becoming eligible for the tour, under the rules governing overseas-based players. When asked post-match whether he expected to link up with the All Blacks in South Africa, he deflected: "I'm not too sure — you know just as much as me. 'Be where my feet are' and whatever happens, happens."
Head coach Dave Rennie had already signalled Mo'unga as a contingency option when naming his 44-man squad. "There is a chance," Rennie said. "If we had an injury at 10, then he's an option to come in." Love, Damian McKenzie, Beauden Barrett and Josh Jacomb are the four tens currently in the touring party, with Ruben Love having served as first-choice 10 during the Nations Championship.
The All Blacks open their six-week South African tour against the Stormers at DHL Stadium on August 7, before three Tests against the Springboks in Johannesburg (twice) and Cape Town, with a fourth Test in Baltimore on September 12.