Richie Mo'unga says he welcomes a contest for the All Blacks' No.10 jersey, saying the competition as a positive rather than addingpressure to perform.
Mo'unga owned the All Blacks' first-five role at last year's Rugby World Cup as part of the dual playmaker system then-coach Steve Hansen implemented, which saw fellow first-five Beauden Barrett shifted to fullback.
Barrett continued on in the No.15 jersey this year with the Blues in Super Rugby Aotearoa, with Otere Black playing at first-five.
Black impressed in his time at first-receiver but after he suffered a neck injury in the loss to the Hurricanes, the Blues moved Barrett to No.10 and were reminded why he has been crowned world player of the year twice previously in the role.
As a result, Barrett has since kept the Blues' 10 jersey with Black relegated to the bench.
Mo'unga said it was good to see his All Blacks teammate back at his preferred spot.
"It's good to see Beaudy back at 10," Mo'unga said.
"It lifts everyone's game up and makes me want to play better and put my case out there even more."
Along with Barrett and Black, Josh Ioane has made a positive return for the Highlanders after missing much of the domestic competition with injury and at the Chiefs, former All Black Aaron Cruden has enjoyed time in the role after returning to New Zealand this year.
In fact, Mo'unga said it was a special moment for him to face off against Cruden last week when the 31-year-old earned his 100th Super Rugby cap.
"He's someone that I came out of school looking up to and moulded my game around," Mo'unga said of Cruden.
"We were the same weight and same height so it was awesome to see that."
While Cruden isn't in the mix for selection talks, Mo'unga said the impressive stocks at first-five in New Zealand currently is a positive for the game going forward.
"It's healthy for New Zealand rugby."
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