Rugby

All Blacks duo to leave Super Rugby for Japan in 2024

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The All Blacks duo of Richie Mo’unga and Shannon Frizell will leave their respective Super Rugby clubs at the conclusion of 2023 to play rugby union in Japan.

They will join former New Zealand captain Todd Blackadder at Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo, who has been given the reigns of head coach. The decision by both players means they won’t be able to play internationally while they are over there.

However, they will be eligible to be picked in the squad for the 2023 World Cup.

Looking forward to a new challenge, Richie Mo’unga will leave the Crusaders in the Super Rugby. The five-eighth has played 94 games and scored 1,053 points for them across seven years.

During this time he was destined to play international rugby. He moved from representing the U-20 All Blacks team to the national team. In this period he has played 44 games and earnt 370 points.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity and to be part of the Lupus family I plan on doing everything I can to make Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo the number one team in Japan,” Mo’unga said earlier today in a statement.

“It’s a dream of mine to play rugby overseas and to experience a different culture and I know this will be an amazing experience for my family.”

He will be joined by Shannon Frizell. After beginning his professional career for Tasman in the National Provincial Championship, Frizell joined the Highlanders in 2018. Whilst being a mainstay in the team he has appeared 57 times, including a breakout year in 2019.

The loose forward and brother of Australian rugby league international Tyson Frizell has played 25 games to date for the All Black. This includes being part of the squad in the previous World Cup in 2019.

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