Richie Mo'unga can only watch on as England's Elliot Daly goes past him.

The All Blacks weren't just overpowered during their Rugby World Cup semifinal to loss to England last year, they were also outsmarted.

In a candid admission to the Will Greenwood Podcast, All Blacks No 10 Richie Mo'unga has revealed how Eddie Jones' side cleverly spotted that he was defending in the centre position during the tournament and constructed the perfect decoy move to expose him and set up Manu Tuilagi's semifinal try.

DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES Richie Mo'unga is caught 'man watching' as England fullback Elliot Daly gets a flat pass from No 10 George Ford.

"I'd been defending at centre the whole World Cup, only off lineouts, and the week before against Ireland had some good success coming out and reading plays out the back and bringing a bit of line speed," Mo'unga told the podcast.

"I think it was the first lineout that England had, and they had hit around midfield, around halfway and their first phase ended up there.

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"And I remember looking and [George] Ford was was there, and they had [Anthony] Watson there, and I saw [Elliot] Daly, and I knew they were going to run a second man play.

"And I knew this was the picture I'd seen before, they'd run this many times before.

"I went to read out the back and ... instead of them throwing deep for the second man play they threw the flush ball straight across my face.

DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES Richie Mo'unga tries to make a desperate tackle on Elliot Daly with wing George Bridge covering the outside man.

"I just saw the ball and Daly just got on the outside of me.

"He was too fast, I got done.

"I was just a little bit man watching a little bit....I'm looking back and he's made a break which ended up leading to the first try.

"I remember just sitting there and saying to myself, 'well played'."

Stuff/The 1014 Rugby The All Blacks' dual playmaker system is explained by 1014 Rugby analysts Gareth and Steven..

​Mo'unga's honest and gracious recollection ("It's not something I've shared with a lot of people but it was a cool rugby experience for me") will not soften the blow for All Blacks fans but it does paint a fuller picture of that disappointing night in Japan.

England's forwards dominated at the set piece and breakdown as Steve Hansen's selection of Scott Barrett at No 6 didn't translate into the lineout dominance the All Blacks were looking for.

But podcast host Greenwood also pressed Mo'unga on whether the decision to make him defend at No 13 had left him exposed, and although the Crusaders No 10 again paid tribute to England he admitted he lacked familiarity with the role.

HANNAH PETERS/GETTY IMAGES Richie Mo'Unga is consoled by Jack Goodhue after the All Blacks' loss to England.

"For a No 10 it's not something that you're used to, you don't have experience," he said.

"For me it was something that was unusual...but it's not like I could say, 'I want to defend at No 10'... my mindset is I'll do whatever is best for the team

"But it shows that I was off just that little bit."

England went on to win the semifinal 19-7 before being beaten by an inspired Springboks side in the final.

The All Blacks are due to meet England again in November – coronavirus permitting – and Mo'unga made it clear that he regarded them as nothing less than "a world-class team:.

"There was no bitter feeling, there was no anger in my head," Mo'unga said.

"I said, 'they've planned that, they know I'm defending at centre, they know I can defend the second man play pretty well, let's just catch him man watching, we'll get Daly on his outside and split them down there'.

"I admire smart play. I like creating moves on what I see and what I've previewed and that was something that I thought, 'that was well done'."