All Blacks coach Tana Umaga has revealed Richie Mo’unga’s determination in battling back after suffering what could have been a season-ending injury.

The fly-half has been selected in the New Zealand squad for the northern leg of the Nations Championship despite currently being on the sidelines.

Mo’unga sustained a calf issue ahead of the Bledisloe Cup which ruled him out of both matches against the Wallabies in October.

Head honcho Dave Rennie stated that the initial timeline for recovery was six to eight weeks with the worst-case scenario ruling him out of the majority of next month’s games.

Mo’unga ‘pushing’ for the Scotland game

They take on Scotland, Wales and England before there will a finals series at Twickenham at the end of November.

There was a real worry that he wouldn’t be back until after the encounter with the English but, according to Umaga, Mo’unga was never going to let that happen.

“He’s being managed through and he’s well ahead of where we thought he would be at. We’re just going to have to manage that as we go, but it’s the second game he’s going to be available for. But he’s pushing for that first,” the All Blacks legend told Sport Nation.

“The first thing he said to me when he did do his calf is, ‘don’t worry, I will be back sooner than they think, I always do.’

“He’s a very positive thinker and he’s proven that right. He’s taken every step and he’s ahead of where he was meant to be, so we’ll hopefully just keep tracking that way and we’ll see where he gets to.”

With Ruben Love also ruled out for the season, Damian McKenzie was shifted from full-back to 10, but Mo’unga’s availability will add more depth to the fly-half role.

It will also slightly ease the All Blacks’ injury crisis with Rennie without several important players, including Ardie Savea, Luke Jacobson and Shannon Frizell in the back-row.

Surprise recall

That has opened up an opportunity for other players, however, and Mo’unga’s Crusaders team-mate, Christian Lio-Willie, has duly received a call-up for the northern tour.

Lio-Willie featured a few times for the Test team in 2025, but this will be his first involvement in a New Zealand squad since last November.

“With Christian we know he’s very consistent, both through Super Rugby and the NPC with Otago. He’s been in this environment before,” Umaga said.

“He was one that missed out going to South Africa by not much. Just looking at what we’ve got in our loose forward mix, I would say that was one of the major things we were looking at.

“He’s been there before and believe he was the next cab off the rank for us in terms of giving an opportunity.

“When you think about the injuries we’ve had in the loose forward department and having these conversations around players that have missed out, that’s the pleasing thing for us as a nation in terms of our rugby stocks.”