Being patient worked with Kieran Read 10 years ago and could do again with Richie Mo'unga. Photo / Getty
Being patient worked with Kieran Read 10 years ago and could do again with Richie Mo'unga. Photo / Getty
If it seemed a little pointed of Steve Hansen to warn against promoting Richie Mo'unga to the All Blacks No 10 jersey too soon, there is good reason why the national coach is advocating patience.
Part of Hansen's desire to quash the rising tide of voices calling for Mo'unga tosurplant Beauden Barrett as the All Blacks starting first-five, is his knowledge that Super Rugby doesn't come with the same pressures and demands as test football.
Mo'unga has played superbly behind a dominant Crusaders pack, but that in itself doesn't necessarily equip him to direct the All Blacks in a test or indeed leapfrog him ahead of Barrett who has more than 50 caps to his name.
But what's also behind Hansen's cautious approach is the knowledge that there is a longer-term picture to consider and it is one that potentially looks better for Mo'unga if he's not pushed ahead of schedule in the Rugby Championship.
Mo'unga himself may not agree, but his uncertainty about whether it's a good plan could be assuaged by looking at the case of All Blacks captain Kieran Read, who is the only Crusader playing in the 2018 final who started 10 years ago when Christchurch last hosted Super Rugby's showdown.
Read wasn't in such a dissimilar position to Mo'unga back in 2008. He was the rising star of the game back then - easily the form No 6, as he was then, in the 2008 competition having impressed with both Canterbury and the Crusaders the previous year.
When Jerry Collins surprisingly announced he was leaving for France, the 22-year-old Read was the overwhelming favourite to take his No 6 jersey in what was known back then as the Tri-Nations.
But the selectors surprised everyone when they left out Read, the outstanding figure in the 2008 Super Rugby final, saying they felt his long-term development would be better served by taking some time off, then playing for Canterbury before coming into contention for the All Blacks end of season tour.
Richie Mo'unga has been one of the standout players of the Super Rugby season. Photo / Photosport
"It is Kieran's first big Super 14 season and I think that takes its toll," said All Blacks coach Graham Henry. "And I think he needs to regroup and set his sights for the end of year tour.
"I think that will be helpful to him and I think he will play better rugby by doing that. That is our opinion.
"We are not talking about his form. We are talking about playing 14 or 15 Super 14 games in three months, then playing three test matches on end and playing South Africa and Australia.
"Is that the best thing for him right now? We see him as a long-term All Black hopefully. We think he will be a better player for a wee bit of space and then build for that end of year tour."
Plenty of people didn't agree with the decision at the time, but the fact Read has played more than 100 tests, won two World Cups, been All Blacks captain since 2016 and is the only Crusader still around from the 2008 final, does possibly validate Henry's thinking.
And while Hansen's position on Mo'unga is not as extreme as Henry's on Read, the basic theme is the same - which is essentially a reluctance to be seduced by Super Rugby form and being forced into action by the weight of public pressure.
Mo'unga is 24 and while he's in his third Super Rugby campaign, his test experiences extends to 10 minutes in the third test this year against France.
Hansen and his fellow selectors will have a plan for Mo'unga this year, which is to slowly build his exposure to test rugby.
They will have earmarked a a couple of tests - probably Japan and Italy and possibly one of the games against Argentina - to start him, with some potential bench time also possible depending on injuries and how the team is performing.
The coaches don't feel any particular need to rush things more than that. Test players aren't made in Super Rugby.
They are developed there and finished in the international arena and if Mo'unga is going to emulate Read and still be around at the top level in 10 years, then the plan of softly-softly has to remain.
Patience paid off with Read as it surely will with Mo'unga who has that same obvious look of being a long-term All Black.
