Mo’unga stakes claim to be world’s best kicker with trick shot
Richie Mo’unga must be in a good mood at the moment. The Crusaders star looks to have wrestled the All Blacks No10 jersey from Beauden Barrett after his performance against South Africa in Johannesburg ahead of back to back Tests with Argentina on home soil.
He was obviously in such a good mood that he decided to pull out his bag of tricks with his teammates recently while showing off what an elite kicker he is.
While on the training pitch, the 28-year-old executed a perfect cross field kick. That does not sound that impressive, except his teammate Sevu Reece was at the top of a hill… on a moving golf buggy. The kick was so perfect that it went straight into the hands of the winger.
The All Blacks posted the video on social media soon after:
@allblacks Wild skill @richie_mo #allblacks #rugby #nz #trickshot
Though he would probably be the favourite to start against Argentina, Mo’unga may be selected by default this week at his home stadium in Christchurch after reports have emerged this week that Barrett has picked up a knock in training.
Regardless of whether he starts or not, losing Barrett is a massive blow for the All Blacks, as he would inject pace into the game in the final quarter from the bench. That could be the likely formula for the All Blacks for the rest of the Rugby Championship, and even the rest of the year.
Even though Barrett was impressive against the Springboks in the first round of the Rugby Championship in Nelspruit, his side spent much of the game penned in their own half. Starting Mo’unga in the rematch was to help with the territorial battle, with Ian Foster clearly believing he has the superior kicking game from hand. With trick shots like the one he did this week, it is hard to argue with that.
