Mo'unga will be sidelined for up to eight weeks after fracturing a bone in his left hand.
Now Richie Mo'unga will be seated in the stands with his arm encased in plaster, it's time to start a conversation about who will kick goals for the Crusaders.
Assistant coach Leon MacDonald confirmed either Marty McKenzie or Mitchell Hunt will start at first five-eighth against the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday night, a necessity given Mo'unga broke a bone in his left hand during the 17-13 win over the Brumbies last weekend and could be out of Super Rugby for up to eight weeks.
The last thing the Crusaders want to do is miss opportunities to keep the Forsyth Barr Stadium scoreboard moving because they haven't converted penalties and conversions into points; the front runners for this crucial job are McKenzie or Hunt, probably dependent on who is selected to start at No 10, while Israel Dagg and David Havili are more noted for their ability to land long-range bombs.
"Both Mitch and Marty are good goal kickers, both have good records and have trained really well in the off-season and are hitting the ball really well," MacDonald said.
"With Dave (Havili) too, between the three of them there is really good cover there."
McKenzie and Hunt got a chance to familiarise themselves with the playmaker's role at training on Monday. While both can also cover fullback, a position Hunt often filled when playing for Tasman in the Mitre 10 Cup, they looked equally comfortable at No 10.
In the case of McKenzie, who also kicked all 10 shots at goal when he played for University in the Christchurch club competition last year, that wasn't surprising. He regularly starts at first-five for Taranaki, was their preferred goal kicker last year and the second-highest points scorer behind Auckland's Simon Hickey.
While Hunt may be familiar with how assistant backs coach Leon MacDonald - also the Tasman coach - likes things done, he usually left the goal kicking for his province to Marty Banks. That will have to be weighed-up against slotting a proven marksman in the form of McKenzie in the starting side.
The other option would be to shift Dagg from fullback to the right wing, a possibility if Seta Tamanivalu doesn't recover from the hamstring injury that forced him to retire from the Brumbies game, and start either McKenzie or Hunt at fullback.
Tamanivalu took a limited part in training, as did another wing, ex-Wallabies wing Digby Ioane who is still recovering from the blow to the hip he suffered during the Brisbane Global Tens a fortnight ago and is not expected to play against the Highlanders.
Utility back Tim Bateman, who can also play at first-five, suffered a fracture to a bone in his back during the same tournament, and won't be available this weekend.
Openside flanker Matt Todd, who required an operation on Friday after picking-up a skin infection and had to be scratched from the Brumbies match at late notice, wasn't an active participant in training and MacDonald said his health would be monitored before determining whether he would be named in the starting team.
"Depending on how his infection settles. He is the All Black No 7 and we will be pretty keen to get him back if he is available."
The coaches were surprised when informed Mo'unga had a serious hand injury, given he never complained about it during or after the match at AMI Stadium. It was only when he fronted for a injury clinic on Sunday morning, and was instructed to have the hand scanned and then operated on, that Robertson and co realised they needed a new playmaker.
"He's pretty tough, Richie. He's a bit of a battler," MacDonald said. "He didn't let us know there was too much going on, so we were a little bit surprised when we got the news."
- Stuff
