Who is Richie Mo’unga: Ten things you should know about the All Blacks fly-half

A serial winner for the Crusaders, Richie Mo’unga is highly rated for his vision and attacking skills, which have seen him don the No 10 shirt for New Zealand.

Ten things you should know about Richie Mo’unga

1. Richard Fou’a Mo’unga was born in Christchurch on 25 May 1994, and attended St Andrew’s College, from 2009 to 2012, which also produced Alex ‘Grizz’ Wyllie, the former New Zealand flanker who coached the All Blacks between 1988 and 1991.

2. Mo’unga married long-term partner Sophie Vieceli at the chapel of his old school in 2019. They had their first child, Billie, in August 2020.

3. Mo’unga was called up by Canterbury in 2013, his first year after leaving school, for their ITM Cup campaign and played for New Zealand U20 at the 2014 Junior World Cup, in New Zealand, where the Baby Blacks were beaten 32-25 by South Africa in the semi-final.

4. Mo’unga made his Super Rugby debut for the Crusaders in 2016, under Todd Blackadder, and won the title in 2017, 2018 and 2019. He added Super Rugby Aotearoa titles in 2020 and 2021.

5. The fly-half played for the Barbarians against New Zealand before he made his international debut. Mo’unga ran out for the invitational side in their 31-22 defeat by the All Blacks at Twickenham on 11 November 2017, scoring the opening try of the game.

6. Mo’unga joined up with the All Blacks touring squad, playing against a French XV, but had to wait until June 2018 for his first Test cap.

Mo’unga came off the bench, with 11 minutes left, in the 49-14 win over France in Dunedin. He got his first start later that year against Argentina in Nelson, scoring 16 points in a 46-24 victory.

7. Mo’unga showed off his piano skills in some YouTube videos posted from hotels in Japan during the 2019 Rugby World Cup. New Zealand band Six60 commented on them saying it was time for a collaboration.

8. During that World Cup Mo’unga passed 100 Test points in his 14th international in the pool game against Canada. It was only his seventh start.

9. Mo’unga was one of a group of Crusaders players reprimanded by team management for breaking New Zealand lockdown laws in 2020..

10. A racehorse that Mo’unga has a 10% share is named after the fly-half. Mo’unga donates his portion of its winnings to a children’s cancer charity, which benefited by NZ$25,000 when the horse won the Winx Stakes at Randwick in August 2021. The horse’s dam was part-owned by Dan Carter.

Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.

Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.