Another year for Mo’unga

Richie Mo’unga’s fresh one-year deal with NZ Rugby has bolstered the All Blacks’ playmaker options for next year’s World Cup in France.

First five-eighth Mo’unga, 28, yesterday confirmed he will remain in New Zealand for another season. He has also recommitted to the Crusaders and Canterbury.

While the decision wasn’t unexpected and there had been no indication Mo’unga was considering offshore offers, All Blacks and Crusaders coaches Ian Foster and Scott Robertson would have welcomed confirmation that the influential playmaker was staying in New Zealand.

Foster now has two experienced No 10s locked in for the World Cup, with Beauden Barrett committed to NZ Rugby through to the end of 2023.

Mo’unga has played 32 tests since his debut as a substitute against France in 2017.

beyond your term in power in the position you’re in.’’

Deans has plenty of experience here, albeit in a different context. Despite the language barrier – and the best efforts from well-funded rivals such as Suntory (Eddie Jones) and Toyota Verblitz (Steve Hansen) – Saitama have established themselves as Japan’s premier club under Deans.

The reasons for that success are far too complex, and dependent on the efforts of others, to be easily summed up, Deans said, but he did offer this: ‘‘You never really stop in a leadership position.

‘‘You’ve got to be looking beyond [where] you are at the moment, all the time, so you’re not blindsided in any part of the business. And you just keep turning up for work. I guess that’s a simple answer.’’