The battle for the All Blacks' No.10 jersey isn't a straight shootout between Richie Mo'unga and Beauden Barrett, coach Ian Foster says.
After starting one test each to start the All Blacks' 2021, Mo'unga appears to have asserted himself as Foster's go-to man at first-five, named to start Saturday's second test against Fiji in Hamilton.
The No.10 contest has dominated much of the talk around the All Blacks' selections to start 2021, with Foster appearing to have moved on from the maligned dual-playmaker strategy.
And with only one spot available for either Mo'unga or Barrett to take going into each test, Foster says that the 'battle' between the two is now more about growing depth in the All Blacks' first-five stocks.
"It's shaping up just nicely," Foster says.
"It's not like we're trying to design a big boxing match, one against the other. We're trying to grow our 10s in terms of understanding how we play."
Mo'unga, 27, started the first test of the season - a 102-0 victory against Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium, while 30-year-old Barrett was given the No.10 jersey for the 57-23 win over Fiji in Dunedin last weekend.
Based on those two performances, Foster has handed the reins to Mo'unga for the second test against Fiji, playing in Hamilton on Saturday night - with the All Blacks coach making it clear that he's ahead of Barrett in the pecking order, for now.
"I'd give Richie the points based on the first two games, but to be fair, we always expected that," Foster adds.
"I thought Beaudy made a lot of really good decisions. I thought his instincts were probably just a fraction off, that's why we're keen to keep playing him and keep giving him more and more time.
Only into his third test after a stint in Japan, Barrett didn't have it easy against Fiji, and was even forced from the field as a blood bin replacement after a nasty injury to his face in the first half in Dunedin.
But Foster asserts that Barrett will be managed back to the intensity that he needs to be at heading into the rest of 2021, starting with an appearance off the bench from Saturday.
"I was really impressed with a lot of his game management. To me, he's not far off where we need hime to be.
"He took a couple of pretty big head knocks, face knocks, and I thought it maybe dampened his desire to go to the line quite as hard as we know he can.
"This is a chance for him to have a little bit of a breather in that space, but come on and show us in that second half."
Join Newshub for live updates of the second test between the All Blacks and Fiji from 7pm Saturday.
