All Blacks flyhalf Richie Mo’unga has revealed that he played most of the 2023 Rugby World Cup final despite being knocked out by Eben Etzebeth in the opening minutes of the match.

Mo’unga made the revelation during an episode of The Good, The Bad and The Rugby ANZ, looking back at the Paris final.

The 30-year-old played 75 minutes of the match and kicked two penalties, but crucially missed a conversion to Beauden Barrett’s second-half try that would have put the All Blacks into the lead.

Mo’unga confirmed that he had been knocked unconscious when his head slammed into the ground after he was smashed backwards by Bok enforcer Etzebeth.

The All Blacks playmaker opted to play on and said the incident was “irrelevant”.

“Yeah, it must have been two [minutes in]. It was early,” Mo’unga said.

“I got a hospital pass from [Brodie] Retallick. I jumped up for it and Etzebeth just smoked me. I actually got knocked out when that happened.

“Nobody would know it and it’s irrelevant, but having to adapt, having to take control again, get your breath back and be in the right frame of mind to execute was really hard because of the intensity of the game.

“It was physical and the speed of the game was really quick too.”

Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images

The post Mo’unga: Eben knocked me out appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Src: sarugbymag.co.za