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Hurricanes coach Jason Holland lifts lid on Ardie Savea fitness - and the possible return of Julian Savea

By Online Editors
(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Hurricanes coach Jason Holland says there’s a “good chance” star loose forward Ardie Savea would be ready for his rugby return against the Blues, but is taking a cautious approach with his players as they gear up for the start of next month’s Super Rugby Aotearoa.

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Savea has been recovering from knee surgery after suffering an injury in the All Blacks‘ World Cup semifinal loss to England last year – and has been slowly working his way back to fitness since.

Savea’s rehab schedule has been interrupted by weeks of lockdown, but Holland says he is optimistic that the 26-year-old will be back for the Hurricanes’ return to the field against the Blues on June 14.

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Watch as the New Zealand Super Rugby teams return to training

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Watch as the New Zealand Super Rugby teams return to training

“It’s a good chance,” Holland said after the team’s first full training on Monday. “Although with Ards, it’s not massively important if it doesn’t happen if it’s not the absolute right thing for him to do.

“He was due to be back by now, if we didn’t have Covid, around that bye week which was couple of weeks ago. Obviously he’s missed a lot of work in the meantime.”

Like Savea, Holland said the rest of the squad will also be managed closely, with training intensity and contact to be built up slowly to avoid injuries after the prolonged break.

“With everyone, we’ve got four weeks. So we’ll take our time with Ards and in two weeks’ time we’ll have a better idea whether he’s ready to go. But he had a smile on his face out there and he was doing everything with the boys.

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“The boys were in great form when they came in. The banter is flowing. Everyone is just relieved and grateful that we have the opportunity to come back in and do what we love.”

Savea was a revelation for the All Blacks last year – showcasing his dominance in the ruck and rampaging running power from all three loose forward positions.

However, Holland believes Savea is best suited as a No 8, which may very well be where he starts under new All Blacks coach Ian Foster, with Sam Cane likely securing the No 7 jersey as newly announced captain.

“Personally I’m a big fan of Ardie as an eight,” Holland said. “I think it suits his game, he can get his hands on the ball a lot more, being the massive carrier he is.

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“By the same token, with the way we approached the first part of the year with our 9s and 10s, we want a bit of flexibility to start and finish games in a certain way. That’ll be no different with Ards and his ability to play eight and seven is going to be massive for us.”

Another possible returning player to the Hurricanes squad could be Ardie’s older brother Julian Savea, who expressed interest in joining his old side after ending his time with Toulon in France.

While there isn’t any scope for the Hurricanes to add Julian to their squad right now, Holland said he’ll be keeping in touch with the former All Blacks winger over the next few weeks.

“I’ve had a quick chat to Jules just as a mate really and said good day and found out what he’s up to. We’ll keep talking around that but at the moment we’ve got no injuries. So there’s no scope as far as I’m aware unless you’ve got injuries. It’ll be interesting to have some conversations in the next few weeks.”

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Bull Shark 57 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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