Jeff Wilson on why Ardie Savea must fill All Blacks bench role

Former All Black and current Sky Sport commentator Jeff Wilson has crunched the numbers and decided on his personal bench for Dave Rennie’s side in 2026, after the opening six rounds of Super Rugby Pacific.

Wilson has picked Ardie Savea as one of those bench players for the All Blacks, pinpointing his possible impact in a shorter, 40-minute stint, as to why a bench spot could be his role in 2026.

Rennie, who was named the new All Blacks head coach at the start of this month, openly discussed that players are on a clean slate from the start of his tenure.

This opens the door to players who were on the fringe under former head coach Scott Robertson, and players who hadn’t been in the All Black frame prior to Rennie’s appointment.

Speaking on The Breakdown, Wilson explained how he believes that the bench is almost more important than the starting XV, with how you can win games in the final 20 minutes.

“I can tell you why it’s so important because I did some research over the last couple of years Super Rugby and the All Blacks and the Springboks, and with 20 minutes to go, and 50% of the test matches, or Super Rugby, there is a 10 point margin in games,” Wilson said on The Breakdown.

“So you win games in the second half, not in the first half. So all of a sudden everyone’s gonna start coming at me because you’ve got Ardie Savea on the bench.

“Well this is where I think we need to get better at where we use our bench. Other teams across the world are using their bench better than us, and so I’m looking at this and going, what do I need to finish games? I need experience. I need explosive play. I need the ability to have versatility.”

Wilson’s bench forwards consists of Crusaders prop Tamaiti Williams and Hurricanes tighthead Tyrel Lomax, Chiefs hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, current All Blacks captain Scott Barrett, Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu, and Savea.

He’s gone with a six-two split, with only Blues halfback Finlay Christie and Crusaders midfielder Leicester Fainga’anuku on the bench as the backs reserves.

On the reasoning, Wilson says that the versatility and impact of his bench will mean they can cover any scenario.

“Well, because you’ve got a Damian McKenzie, Richie Mo’unga or a Beauden Barrett, I’ve got two of them playing. I’ve got Will Jordan on the wing.

“Ardie Savea can play in the midfield, for me he could play on the wing. I’m looking at him going, do I want 80 minutes of Ardie Savea or do I want 40 minutes of everything he’s got in multiple positions?

“I’m just putting it out there. We need to think about this and the fact that half of the games are decided in the last 20 minutes, you need special skill sets. Patrick Tuipulotu for the All Blacks.

“You watch when he comes off the bench, the difference that he makes, having plenty of power and experience up front, having the likes of Tamaiti Williams coming off the bench.

“I’m just looking at it going, how do we think about it a little bit differently? We’ve not gone to a six-two split for the All Blacks. I know some people might not like it. I just want to see us win games.”