1
Julian Savea probably woke up to the news that he’d apparently signed a deal with Harlequins this morning with the same reaction as everyone else in the New Zealand rugby community – disbelief.
ADVERTISEMENT
He took to Twitter to dispel the rumour quickly, not that he needed to. The likelihood of a deal being done to cover Marland Yarde’s shock exit from the club over just a weekend is ludicrous, made even more fanciful by the fact that he recently re-signed with NZ Rugby for the next two years. However, it’s not hard to see how someone on the other side of the world could jump to this conclusion – right now Savea is unlikely to play for the All Blacks again, and will end up in England or France at some stage in the future. He’s only 27, and this time last year seemed to be a shoe-in to smash the All Black individual try-scoring record.
How a winger that hot got to be left out in the cold is a familiar tale.
I remember being at Julian Savea’s debut match for the All Blacks. It was a beautiful night at Eden Park, back in 2012 when Ireland were an international irrelevance on the All Black record.
He scored three tries that night. They were all brutally beautiful examples of how a young, powerful player stamps his name on the international stage. Savea drew comparisons to Jonah Lomu, especially after he followed it up with a blockbuster 2013 that saw him nominated for World Player of the year.
But, by the 2015 World Cup, cracks were definitely starting to show. Despite returning to his destructive best against France in the All Blacks’ quarterfinal demolition, people were already starting to look to the potential wingers that could take over from Savea in the future. His place in the pecking order became even more apparent at the business end of the 2016 Super Rugby season, when the Hurricanes unceremoniously dropped him to the bench for the entirety of the playoffs.
Such is the life, or at least shelf-life, of an All Black winger. Despite returning to prominence somewhat during the latter part of the season, the future-proofing of the left wing had already been set in motion. The new sensation Rieko Ioane was rewarded for irresistible Super Rugby form and made a Savea-like splash in his first test start against the British & Irish Lions, scoring two tries. Add in the irresistible form of Waisake Naholo, the talent of Nehe Milner-Skudder and the rise of Matt Duffie, and Savea now finds himself in the same spot Malakai Fekitoa did a few months ago.
Despite those set-backs, Savea was poised to finally Doug Howlett’s All Black record of 49 test tries in 2017. But now – like a handful of other famous players, he’s stranded on 46. He’s currently tied for second place on the list along with All Black greats Christian Cullen and Joe Rokocoko. Only two behind them is Jeff Wilson, then comes Jonah Lomu. All of them ended their All Black careers at around the same age, 27, which Savea turned this year.
ADVERTISEMENT
His demotion has almost scary historical precedence, both in age and tries. Cullen and Rokocoko both went on to play in Europe, with the latter still enjoying a prolific career at Racing 92. So it’s fair to say that the story that was shut down as quickly as it appeared this morning will definitely pop back up as not-so-Fake-News in due course.
There is one more footnote to all this, if the trend continues and All Black wingers keep getting replaced at this rate.
Historically, while the All Blacks have dominated pretty much every category there is in world rugby, the top individual try scoring one is something a New Zealand player has never had a piece of in the modern era. It would surprise more than a few to know that Englishman Rory Underwood has outscored all All Blacks with 50 test tries, also the fact that Japan have two players in the top five try-scorers of all time. What makes it even more remarkable is that Daisuke Ohata (69 tries) and Hirotoki Onozawa (55) played at the same time on either wing for the Brave Blossoms.
So whenever an All Black does break Howlett’s record, they’ll still have some work to do to get to the very top of the pile. If it’s going to be Savea, it’ll require a massive change in fortune next season.
ADVERTISEMENT
Comments on RugbyPass
I wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to comments