Richie Mo’unga’s remarkable winning streak in domestic championships is under real threat this season at the Toshiba Brave Lupus and there is a good chance he will return to New Zealand earlier than perhaps expected.
Mo’unga, the All Blacks’ first choice No.10 before he left for Japan at the end of 2023, has won two League One titles with the Brave Lupus in two years but his team are currently sixth on the table and have struggled to find the consistency they have become renowned for under his direction.
With one round to play, they are guaranteed to make the final playoffs place but will face a giant hurdle in the form of the Kubota Spears or Saitama Wild Knights in their sudden-death quarter-final.
The Brave Lupus have lost nine matches this year – including a streak of seven in a row. They lost two in 2025 and only one in 2024. Mo’unga, who will turn 32 at the end of the month, won back-to-back championship MVP awards over the last two seasons.
The table-topping Kobelco Kobe Steelers, led by new All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie, will be favourites to take the title this year, although they have only a slim lead over the Saitama Wild Knights, coached by Robbie Deans. Both sides have lost only twice this season.
The third-placed Kubota Spears have the same competition points as the Wild Knights, with the top three placings all up for grabs on the final weekend of the regular season.
Mo’unga, the former Crusaders linchpin, won seven titles in a row under former head coach Scott Robertson and several championships with Canterbury.
He was always set to return to New Zealand in the middle of the year to push for a place in the All Blacks at next year’s World Cup but there was an end-of-term feel to Mo’unga’s address to the Brave Lupus’ supporters at the weekend after he celebrated his 50th match for the club.
“On behalf of myself and my family I just want to thank everyone who has made Japan awesome for us. We’ve really enjoyed our experience in Japan… Toshiba has a really special place in my heart.
“We’ve still got some of the journey left so I’m excited to see what the future holds for Toshiba, but if I don’t get another chance, thank you very much for supporting me and looking after me.”
Mo’unga, who has signed a two-year deal with New Zealand Rugby, will return to Christchurch at season’s end to play for Canterbury in the NPC, but there remains intrigue over whether Rennie will be allowed to select him for the “Greatest Rivalry" tour of South Africa in August and September.
NZ Rugby’s eligibility rules state Mo'unga, who has played 56 Tests, must play a full season of NPC to be available for a tour which includes four Tests (one is in Baltimore) against the world champions – unless there is an injury to Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie or Ruben Love – but in an interview with 1News in November Mo'unga radiated positivity about his chances of being included.
“I get the rules that have been put in place and I guess I have to come to grips with that is what it is,” Mo’unga said. “But yeah, the South African tour would be something special to be part of.”
He added: “Hey, we’ll see what happens. I’m still very optimistic that something might happen and I might be available for that tour. So, I’m still hopeful.”
It would seem certain that Rennie will test the NZ Rugby board’s stance on the matter ahead of a demanding series against a world champion Springboks team selected from clubs around the world.
In his first interview after being given the job at the start of March, Rennie, who coaches Brodie Retallick at Kobe, raised the prospect of the veteran lock returning, saying Retallick was in the form of his life and still had plenty to offer.
Rennie, who will address New Zealand’s media next week, will know better than most how well Mo’unga is playing and the man himself believes he has improved.
"I definitely think I’m going back to New Zealand as a better player,” Mo’unga told RugbyJP.com recently.
“I think there are things that I've encountered here in Japan that I haven't encountered before as a player like adversity, the challenges of going through life in another country and also the different type of rugby that's played here.
"Sometimes the rugby here can be really disorganised and quite chaotic so I've got to experience that and found ways of how you deal with that and solutions to that.
“I’ve developed in areas such as how to go about building pressure slowly, and managing the right parts of the field, so I've learned a lot of lessons here.”
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