Rennie stays guarded on Mo'unga after All Blacks suffer historic 35-28 loss to Wales

New Zealand head coach Dave Rennie offered little assessment of Richie Mo’unga’s performance after the All Blacks were beaten 35-28 by Wales in Cardiff, suffering their first defeat to the Welsh side in 73 years.

Mo’unga, returning from a two-month absence caused by a calf injury sustained in training, was one of ten changes Rennie made to the starting XV that defeated Scotland at Murrayfield the previous week. The fly-half finished with three turnovers — the most of any player on the night — as New Zealand’s playmakers Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett combined for five between them.

“I’ll have a decent look at it,” Rennie said when asked to assess Mo’unga’s return. “We’re under a fair bit of pressure. He was forced to run a fair bit. It’s a tough day for a lot of people today.”

It was only Mo’unga’s second Test since rejoining the All Blacks during the South Africa tour, following the end of his stint in Japan. His comeback was cut short earlier in the tour when a calf problem ruled him out for the two months preceding the Wales fixture.

The match itself was defined by slow starts to both halves. New Zealand fell 14-0 behind early in the first half and then conceded another 14 points at the beginning of the second, leaving them chasing the game throughout. They were held up over the try line three times late on as they searched for an equaliser.

Despite the defeat, Rennie was unapologetic about his selection choices and insisted the squad had the quality to win.

“We had a good enough side on the field tonight to win, and I think if you look at the stats, we had plenty of opportunity,” he said. “Those guys created a lot of chances. We just weren’t clinical enough, and they were very good defensively.”

Rennie also rejected any suggestion that the heavy rotation had cost his side, pointing instead to a collective failure to execute.

“I have no regret around the side that we picked. There’s really good competition for places — there’s not a lot between certain positions — and the expectation is whoever wears the jersey steps up. When you underperform, it’s not just about the players. We’ll have a look at everything we do.”