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It should really be Ardie Savea over Am

By Ben Smith
(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Once again All Blacks No 8 Ardie Savea has been unequivocally snubbed for the second year in a row after World Rugby announced their four nominees for Player of the Year: Lukhanyo Am, Josh van der Flier, Johnny Sexton and Antoine Dupont.

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The most questionable nomination of the four is Am, only because his season is incomplete. He is a great player but has played just five tests this year, and only three of those the Springboks actually won.

He was having a career year before injury struck in a loss to the Wallabies in Adelaide and has not played since. The Springboks will play 13 tests this year and he will feature in less than half.

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There is no way Am can win the award based on that, in a season where his team hasn’t won any silverware to boot. Does he deserve recognition anyway? Maybe. Does he deserve that recognition over others? No.

At times the nominations for World Rugby’s most prestigious individual accolade can confuse, such as the brown-nosing selection of USA Eagle Joe Taufete’e in the 2019 crop.

No disrespect to Taufete’e, but the Eagles did not achieve much that year and none of their players are at the level of most tier one outfits.

An independent panel of rugby writers would never have dreamed to nominate him. Most probably wouldn’t have known his name, such was the notoriety of the pick.

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Then there are the ever-changing number of nominations year over year. That year six players were worthy of recognition, this year only four. In other years gone, five have been put up.

That inconsistency leads one to believe that the governing body will accomodate those who are deemed worthy if they put together the body of work. There is no stated limit on nominations.

This makes the omission of Ardie Savea in 2022 all the more puzzling as if there was a standout candidate, he would be it. At times he has been a one-man band, providing for the All Blacks in every facet of the game.

He is their best ball carrier, arguably their best jackler, a key line out option, and the X-factor playmaking force that has been producing tries and try assists all year long.

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Although the All Blacks eventually lost their home series to the number one ranked side, Ireland, there was a 42-19 victory in the first test where Savea was at his influential best.

Logging 16 tackles from 17 attempts in defence, Savea scored two tries including one of the best of year early in the second half where he beat centre Garry Ringrose cold on the outside.

After escaping the clutches of the Irish No 13, Savea beat Robbie Henshaw and Keith Earls to score a stunning individual effort at Eden Park.

Perhaps his case for Player of the Year nomination is boosted by the second test in Dunedin, where Savea was unable to return back onto the pitch after a substitution kerfuffle after a spate of cards. The All Blacks were outgunned as Ireland took advantage with the No 8 stuck on the bench.

Back on the field for the decider in Wellington, Savea helped stage a second half fightback by scoring the first try of the game for the All Blacks on a gritty pick and go, twisting and turning his way over. He provided the pass for two of the All Blacks line breaks, one of which led to a breakaway try to Will Jordan.

His biggest blemish was jumping the gun at the ruck to pounce on the ball that was judged to still be in the ruck, leading to a key penalty to Ireland and a maul try.

Overall, he was really one of the few shining lights of the Irish series from a New Zealand perspective, producing three tries, a try assist while being a carry machine and one of the few reliable forces in the forwards in defence over the two and a quarter tests he was on the field.

The Rugby Championship started with back-to-back games against the Springboks in South Africa, the first of which in Mbombela did not have much home to write home about for the visitors.

Savea still managed nine from nine tackles and a turnover in the loss as the All Blacks attack failed to take their opportunities in the 26-10 defeat.

Faced with extreme pressure at Ellis Park the next week and the fate of head coach Ian Foster in the team’s hands, Savea produced a key performance in the 35-23 win with backs against the wall.

He killed off two deep South African attacking raids with two clean steals at breakdown whilst providing a try assist for David Havili’s try, the one which took the lead in the final ten minutes.

He bumped away two Springbok forwards and had the presence of mind to push a late pass to Havili as the next Bok defenders engulfed him.

In the 53-3 win over the Pumas, Savea came up with a try, a try assist and 11 tackles from 11 attempts as they avenged the shock defeat a week earlier in Christchurch.

He missed the trip to Melbourne but returned for the second Bledisloe to add 12 from 12 tackles and another turnover in the 40-14 win where the All Blacks pack dismantled the Wallabies up front, piling on multiple tries from the maul.

In two tests on the Northern tour, Savea has continued his playmaking while showing why he is one of the best forwards in the game. Against Wales he was dominant with the ball-in-hand, bulldozing through and over Wales.

His stat line was ridiculous with 15 carries, one try, one try assist, six defenders beaten while on defence he made 11 from 11 tackles and added two ruck turnovers.

Against Scotland he had a clean ruck steal, a holding on penalty right on halftime and Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie conceded away another by over-rolling on the ground with the threat of Savea over the ball.

That was three turnovers that he could be attributed with, two of which were one metre from the All Blacks line saving them from conceding tries.

Frankly, there is not another nominee who has produced in as many areas of the game as Savea. Their workloads are about half of what Savea does in any given test, yet he produces just as many big plays.

He has become the All Blacks’ best weapon in attack this year. He can ball-play, he can evade, he can offload, he can sit defenders on their backsides. He can carry in close or link on the end of a back line. He is a one of a kind all-round monster.

The All Blacks did not start the year well, but did in fact, win their second consecutive Rugby Championship title, retained the Bledisloe Cup, the Freedom Cup and are currently riding a six game winning streak.

Savea has been influential in achieving all of that, whilst he gave the best account of himself in the Irish series loss against the number one ranked side.

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Adrian 41 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 7 hours 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.

29 Go to comments
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