Tana Umaga admits that Moana Pasifika would ‘love’ to bring in Richie Mo’unga after it emerged that the All Blacks fly-half could switch countries for the next Rugby World Cup.
The 30-year-old has played over 50 times for New Zealand but he put his international career on hold by signing a three-year deal in Japan.
Mo’unga moved to Asia following the 2023 Rugby World Cup final defeat to the Springboks and currently plays his rugby for Toshiba Brave Lupus.
New Zealand Rugby were hopeful of bringing him home early so that he could challenge for the All Blacks 10 shirt, but that now appears to be off the table.
When Mo’unga’s deal ends
As a result, the playmaker is likely to see out the rest of his contract in Japan and weigh up his options when that deal ends midway through 2026.
Umaga has duly confirmed that they would be one of the teams interested in acquiring his services next year.
Asked on The Breakdown whether they had been in contact with Mo’unga, the Moana head coach responded: “No, not at this stage”, but added: “Obviously, Richie’s getting a lot of calls from everybody, but he’s someone that we’d love to talk to.”
The All Blacks legend then joked about how they would convince him to join Moana, saying: “We know his uncles, we’ll try and get him that way!”
Moana Pasifika were formed in 2020 and made their Super Rugby debut in 2022 with the intention of developing players for Tonga and Samoa.
However, they are also currently based in New Zealand, which has allowed Ardie Savea to sign and still be available for the All Blacks.
That could therefore be a good compromise for all parties and particularly Mo’unga himself, whose Test future remains up in the air.
The fly-half will become eligible for either Samoa or Tonga at the end of 2026 under World Rugby’s regulations when he completes his stand down period.
Tonga Rugby Union have confirmed that they will be “reaching out” to Mo’unga, but they may face a battle to convince him to switch ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
The playmaker admitted last year that he was getting “FOMO (fear of missing out)” ahead of the All Blacks’ 2024 Test season.
‘In my prime’
“I am loving my time in Japan. It’s awesome,” he told Stuff in July last year.
“But then for the All Blacks who have just been named, you get a bit of FOMO and you start to wonder what it would be like if you were in the team playing against England this weekend.
“I’m far from finished with my footy. I feel like I’m in my prime, so having that thought of not being able to play for the best team in your country is really hard to take, but it’s the decision I made heading over to Japan.
“I knew that these are the things that I would have to sacrifice in order to get those experiences with my family and to be refreshed with my footy.
“So it’s all part of the greater plan.”
Whatever Mo’unga’s intentions are, he has been backed by All Blacks great Jeff Wilson, who believes that the star playmaker should look at everything that is available to him.
“He’s exploring his options, which he should as an athlete, as a professional,” Wilson said.
“He’s looking at, ‘how does the landscape suit for me? Am I really comfortable where I am? Am I comfortable with my career in the All Black jersey? Am I comfortable that we haven’t quite got to the top when I’ve been in charge [of the 10 shirt]? Can I help somebody else go further than they’ve ever gone before?’
“I think he will look at all that.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/tana-umaga-admits-to-richie-mounga-interest-after-all-blacks-fly-half-linked-with-shock-world-cup-switch
