'Close your eyes and hope': Hurricanes coach on Ardie Savea's return to Wellington

Ardie Savea has been terrorising Super Rugby Pacific all season, and no team knows what he’s capable of better than the Hurricanes. Head coach Clarke Laidlaw says there’s only so much you can do to slow down the former Canes captain.

Savea was subbed at halftime in the last meeting between the two sides, but his team went on to further the two-point lead they owned at the break, winning by nine in Albany.

This week’s contest will see Wellington play host to the matchup, with Moana Pasifika in desperate need of a win to secure their first playoff appearance in Super Rugby history. It will also be Savea’s first visit to the Kiwi capital as an opposing player.

So, there’ll be no shortage of motivation or emotion for the visitors and their leader, and history has shown that when the pressure is on and the lights are brightest, Savea steps up to the challenge.

Laidlaw was asked by SportNation how to go about stopping the already-crowned Super Rugby Pacific MVP.

“Close your eyes and hope,” he responded. “He’s a hell of a rugby player. He’s been an amazing player. I first worked with him when he was 18 with the New Zealand Sevens team with (Sir Gordon) Tietjens, and you could see then that he was going to be special.

“Obviously, when he made his debut, I think it was against the Waratahs for the Hurricanes, and then for the last time here, I think he made 17 out of 17 tackles, and he’s not really slowed down since, has he? So we need to show him the respect he deserves.

“We know he’s going to be a jackal threat, we know he’s going to be a carry threat, he seems to have become a kicking threat to go with it.

“So we just need to play our game. It’s always difficult to pinpoint one player in rugby to lock them up. When he’s got the ball, we need to be aware he’s a ball-carrying threat, but he’s probably just as big a threat off the ball with his jackal and his counter-ruck. So we just need to make sure we’ve got our breakdown right and try to take care of that.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

4

Draws

0

Wins

1

Average Points scored

50

22

First try wins

40%

Home team wins

100%

The Hurricanes have a form openside flanker of their own in Du’Plessis Kirifi, who is never shy of a challenge. Laildaw said he was excited to see the two talents go toe-to-toe in a contest that will no doubt have the full attention of All Blacks selectors.

“I’d love them both to be in (the All Blacks squad). We’re super proud of Du’Plessis around his maturity and how he’s come through the last couple of years, captaining Wellington to the NPC title, and he’s obviously helping lead our team.

“He has a massive point of difference where he makes a big impact in games. There are a lot of loose forwards around that play well and some things look good on stat sheets, but they don’t necessarily make a massive impact, but Dupes is making a real impact.

“He’s coming up with turnovers, his ball carry has been as good as anybody, and he certainly throws himself around defensively. But just his composure, his maturity around his leadership, is probably the thing that we really enjoyed this year.

“So hopefully they can both make the All Blacks as two sevens.”

The Hurricanes have thrived in their recent five-game unbeaten run with plenty of running rugby, but the weather in Wellington, of all places, won’t always allow for that aspect of the team’s game to shine.

“If you look out the window today, I’m not sure the conditions are going to allow free-flowing rugby or not, but it’s our DNA.

“We hear a lot about how the Hurricanes play, but we’ve been striving for a real balance in our game; we try and kick more, we’ve definitely got a set piece with a scrum in particular that we can move around the field.

“Last week, I thought we scrummed particularly well, and I thought we got a couple of really good penalties that allowed us to close the game out against the Reds.

“So if we can use our set piece as a weapon, then we will, but we certainly move the ball around. I’m not sure running the ball straight into Moana is a great idea; they’ve got, probably as much power as any team in the competition. Certainly defensively, they love getting double shoulders, and if you carry too tight, then they’re going to slow your ball up and win that gainline, which is a massive part of their game.

“So, we just need to be smart around how we move the ball around into space, whether that’s through our kicking game or through the run game. So hopefully the conditions allow us to pick and choose.”