[Source: rugbyonslaught]

All Black Richie Mo’unga is among Crusaders stars who breached lockdown rules in New Zealand.

The Crusaders have released a statement saying they have spoken to the group of players that were filmed together at a Christchurch park.

The gathering, which included All Black first five Mo’unga, is against the rules set out by the New Zealand government in relation to coronavirus lockdown.

Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge says in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a time when the community needs to work together and look after one another, and their players are social leaders in that regard.

Mo’unga gave a bizarre apology on video today on his social media platform for him being there.

In the video, Mo’unga claims that he coincidentally turned up to the pitch at the same time as the other players.

And when one of them threw the ball to him, he instinctively caught it.

Richie Mo’unga apologises for incident with Crusaders teammates.

He says it was “not an organised training”, “a coincidence”, and touching the ball was “instinctive”. pic.twitter.com/RKvOUUYKx4

— Andrew Gourdie (@AndrewGourdie) April 6, 2020

The Super Rugby champion Crusaders have been forced to apologise after several members of their squad were spied flouting New Zealand’s isolation rules.

Mo’unga was the only player identified among a group passing and kicking a ball to each other at a Christchurch park on Monday.

Photographs of the players emerged on social media and the Crusaders confirmed they had breached their own rules around individual training during the coronavirus lockdown.

[Source: TVNZ and rugbyonslaught]