Lancaster said All Blacks coach Dave Rennie wanted Mo\u2019unga available for selection, although he had not formally requested an exemption.<\/p>\n
When Rennie was announced as All Blacks coach in March, he was asked about the overseas selection policy<\/a> and said he would love to have former All Blacks lock and test centurion Brodie Retallick available for his squad.<\/p>\n Retallick plays for Rennie\u2019s club in Japan, the Kobe Kobelco Steelers.<\/p>\n \u201cDave\u2019s very clear, he would like Richie to be available for selection because his job is to ultimately win the World Cup next year and he wants the best talent available to the All Blacks,\u201d Lancaster said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a really healthy tension for us to have, where we\u2019ve got a coach who rightly has a focus on winning today and tomorrow, and then we\u2019ve got ourselves as the administrators of the game who have to have a systems lens and a medium to long-term lens on what\u2019s best for the game.\u201d<\/p>\n While the current policy means Mo\u2019unga will miss the initial squads for both campaigns, Lancaster said he could become available for the latter stages of the South Africa tour if injury strikes in the All Blacks squad, similar to what happened with Leicester Fainga\u2019anuku last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce Richie\u2019s back in New Zealand and playing and if we do have injuries, then potentially he could be eligible,\u201d Lancaster said.<\/p>\nNew All Blacks coach Dave Rennie wanted wanted Mo\u2019unga available for selection. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n