Ex-All Blacks fly-half Aaron Cruden believes that the current 10s are acting as ‘facilitators’ rather than generals with Cam Roigard currently the main decision-maker.
When you think of past New Zealand teams, the 10s have tended to be in control, but in Roigard they have potentially found a generational scrum-half.
The 25-year-old has cemented himself as the first choice nine over the past couple of years and, according to Cruden, much of their play is going through the Hurricanes star.
Mo’unga and Love are ‘constant threats’
“Throughout this series I’ve certainly noticed that they’ve been playing a little bit more through Cam Roigard,” he said on The Breakdown.
“Even with Ruben Love in the first three Test matches, he did a really good job in regards to facilitating at times, but you look at both of these players, Ruben Love and Richie Mo’unga, they are constant threats when they are attacking the line, when they’ve got the ball in their hands.
“We just didn’t see that enough at times and that can have a little bit of an impact as a 10 – your ability to get your hands on the ball and feel like you’re in the game rather than just facilitating everything. The confidence can really grow off that.”
Love had the fly-half spot for the first six Tests of Dave Rennie’s reign but, after Richie Mo’unga joined the squad as injury cover partway through Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, he handed the shirt for the finale in Baltimore.
Neither necessarily rubberstamped their spot in the side but Cruden thought that “both performed really well”, while seeing something different in Saturday’s clash.
“What I noticed was there was about a 10-minute period in the second half where Damian McKenzie really stepped up as a first receiver from the backfield, we were throwing some of those balls out the back, playing a little bit wider and it seemed like that flow and transition was really giving us something,” the 50-times capped ex-All Blacks fly-half added.
“That’s something the All Blacks can look at moving forward into the Bledisloe series.”
Test centurion’s verdict
Cruden was joined on the show by All Blacks centurion Mils Muliaina, who gave his view on the fly-half battle and Mo’unga’s return.
The 32-year-old was playing his first Test since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final after a three-year stint in Japan.
“It’s just time, he just needs a bit more having come back from Japan, he only had one game before he was in there, but what it showed is nothing is guaranteed in this environment and that’s what I love about what Rens has created,” Muliaina said.
“He’s also creating a bit of depth. Ruben Love has played the majority of the Test matches, you’ve still got Beauden Barrett, Josh Jacomb’s in the mix as well, but they’re going to be fighting out for that number 10 shirt.
“At some stage he’s going to have to make a decision. It’s probably going to be the end-of-year tour rather than the Bledisloe Cup, but I like what I’m seeing.
“He played well considering he’s been away from international rugby for a long time.”