“Disastrous” – All Blacks fans turn on Richie Mo’unga after Springboks nightmare

The returning fly-half struggled to impose himself as South Africa wrapped up a 3-1 series victory with a 43-28 win in Baltimore.

Mo’unga found himself under relentless pressure from the Springboks defence, with Eben Etzebeth in particular repeatedly targeting the playmaker.

Reaction on social media was brutal, with one supporter writing: “Eben was hunting Richie Mo’unga and eating him up right until the final minute. Those tackles were landing with interest.”

Another questioned the clamour surrounding his return, posting: “Is this the ‘Big-in-Japan’ Richie Mo’unga Razor has been crying for?? He showed Ruben no Love.”

The debate quickly turned towards Love, who has emerged as another option for Scott Robertson at fly-half.

One fan wrote: “They’ve been crying for Richie Mo’unga the whole season. They should’ve just backed Ruben Love.”

Another went even further, declaring: “Ruben Love controls the attack and defends much better than Richie Mo’unga. That test just solidified in my mind that Love needs to be the 10 we go with as the main guy.”

Mo’unga was not the only fly-half to come under fire. Springboks star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was also criticised, with one supporter describing both number 10s as having a “disastrous night at the office.”

After such anticipation around Mo’unga’s return to the All Blacks set-up, the performance will inevitably fuel debate over Robertson’s preferred fly-half heading towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

With the series slipping away, several New Zealand players endured particularly difficult nights as the Springboks dominated from start to finish. Here are four All Blacks who flopped when their side needed them most.

It may feel harsh to include Mo'unga here, but expectations were high after he returned to replace Ruben Love, and ultimately he failed to make the desired impact.

Making his return to Test rugby for the first time since the 2023 World Cup final, Mo'unga showed a few promising touches but was largely unspectacular.

He was not helped by a lack of possession, with the All Blacks seemingly favouring Jordie Barrett and Damian McKenzie as their primary playmakers. He did, however, take a huge hit from Eben Etzebeth impressively.

Mo'unga produced a good kick for Jordie Barrett and recovered well after being beaten by Kurt-Lee Arendse, making a decent tackle to make up for it.

Ultimately, he did not have the influence expected of him and goes down as one of the All Blacks' flops.

With the All Blacks boasting plenty of quality options at 13, including Rieko Ioane and Timoci Tavatavanawai, it is difficult to see what Lienert-Brown offers that gives him the edge over those players.

He is undoubtedly a solid player, but lacks the x-factor of some of his rivals and once again faded out of the game, having limited involvement both with and without the ball.

He struggled under the high ball, including a poor take under pressure from Damian De Allende, before failing to collect another kick that went into touch. He did win a turnover, but endured a difficult afternoon before being forced off with an injury shortly before half-time.

It was another underwhelming performance, making it difficult to understand why Rennie continues to persist with him when he appears to lack a clear point of difference.

Moorby has shown more than Lienert-Brown during the tour, but his selection remains somewhat puzzling given the likes of Leroy Carter and Fehi Fineanganofo are waiting for their opportunity, although Carter did struggle last week and was likely dropped as a result.

He failed to make a telling contribution, with a poor knock-on handing South Africa a counter-attacking opportunity before he conceded a penalty for playing the ball on the floor.

There were some useful carries and he made his tackles, but he ultimately offered very little in attack.

For an All Blacks winger, Moorby simply did not look sharp enough, particularly when compared with Will Jordan, who made the most of the limited opportunities that came his way.

As throughout the tour, South Africa looked comfortable at scrum time. The contest appeared slightly more even on this occasion, but the Springboks still enjoyed clear dominance overall.

The scrum was inconsistent, although Codie Taylor was penalised more frequently. De Groot conceded a scrum penalty shortly after half-time against a new South African front row before being replaced.

He did make a few strong carries into heavy traffic during his time on the pitch, but De Groot was unable to make a significant impact.

He was not terrible, but looked uncomfortable at scrum time and ultimately failed to influence the contest in any meaningful way.

But how well do you remember them? See if you can name the past 20 All Blacks captains and prove your knowledge of New Zealand rugby.