Wellington — All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has pretty much ended the debate over whether Richie Mo’unga would be his starting flyhalf for the Rugby Championship by backing the more experienced Beauden Barrett. Both were named in Hansen’s squad on Monday. Mo’unga’s performances in helping the Crusaders to their ninth Super Rugby title had seen a groundswell of opinion for him to supplant Barrett. However, Hansen said on Monday Barrett’s proven ability at Test level would sway his decision for the opener against Australia in Sydney on August 18. "He’s [Mo’unga] played one Test and he’s got competition from the specialist five-eighth in Beauden Barrett, who’s played 64 [Tests]," Hansen said after he named the squad. "Both of them are very good rugby players. Our job is to maximise the talent we’ve got and over time you will see Richie get more test matches I’m sure." Hansen said that a similar debate had been circulating before the previous Rugby World Cup in England when Barrett was a...
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