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'Never say never': Hurricanes boss drops hint over future of off-contract stars Jordie Barrett and Ardie Savea
Hurricanes head coach Jason Holland has dropped a hint over whether star players Jordie Barrett and Ardie Savea will stay at the franchise beyond this season.
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Both Barrett – who is still signed on with New Zealand Rugby until next year – and Savea are off-contract with the Hurricanes this season and will be top priorities at the negotiating table for the Wellington-based side heading into the off-season.
Clubs both within New Zealand and abroad will no doubt be circling the All Blacks duo, but Holland is “pretty confident” the pair will stay onboard with the Hurricanes.
“I’m pretty optimistic,” Holland said. “You might have read this week, Ards [Savea] is one that definitely likes to leave things till [the end of the season], get the footy out of the way and then start those conversations, but she’s looking pretty positive with Jordie.
“We’ve had some positive chats and I’m pretty confident there. I am pretty confident, but you never say never until these things are done.”
Savea told media last week he is yet to decide where his future lies beyond this year, but added he will begin to weigh up his options once the Super Rugby season had concluded.
Of Samoan heritage, the 49-test All Black has been linked with a potential move to new Super Rugby franchise Moana Pasifika, but Savea suggested it would be difficult to leave the Hurricanes given his stature within the franchise’s set-up.
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“I still haven’t decided what I’m doing just yet,” he said last week. “I’ve kind of been focusing on getting my [knee] injury right.
“That’s been my only focus for the last couple of weeks, so I haven’t really thought about it, but I should do.
“Being a leader of this team, you just want to stay in the moment, stay present, and I think for me my mindset has just been to get the boys ready for this week and I haven’t really thought too far ahead.
“But probably after this week or next I will start to think about that stuff.”
Blues head coach Leon MacDonald has revealed a couple of his key players are in doubt for the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman final against the Highlanders. #SuperRugbyTT #BLUvHIG https://t.co/wKBr8yr3Tx
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 14, 2021
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Barrett, meanwhile, was chased by the Blues while off-contract in 2019. Had he taken that offer to relocate to Auckland, he would have played alongside his brother Beauden.
The 24-year-old had also been courted by the Crusaders, where his other brother Scott is co-captain, and Chiefs before signing his first deal with the Hurricanes ahead of the 2017 season.
It’s not unfeasible to think Barrett would attract similar interest again this year, but Holland’s comments indicate the fullback is primed to stay in Wellington for at least another year.
Although the loss of Ngani Laumape to Stade Francais will leave a hefty hole in next year’s Hurricanes roster, the retention of TJ Perenara and additions of ex-All Blacks duo Owen Franks and Dominic Bird will bolster Holland’s squad significantly.
However, Holland conceded he is still in the market for another first-five, despite the impressive performances of talented youngster Ruben Love, who caught the eye in his seven appearances for the franchise this year.
In their first match since their famous run to the 2019 World Cup quarter-finals, Japan overcame a staunch Sunwolves side in Shizuoka on Saturday. #LionsRugby #Lions2021 https://t.co/CulcEPKSzN
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 14, 2021
Next year, the 20-year-old will be joined by fellow prodigy Aidan Morgan, another 20-year-old first-five who last month inked a three-year deal with the Hurricanes.
Love and Morgan have played alongside each other for the New Zealand Schools and Wellington Lions sides in recent years and will again suit up together later this year after they were both named in the New Zealand U20 squad last month.
Despite the potential of both players, Holland revealed he is still looking for a third first-five to rival the highly-touted duo for playing time in 2022.
“We always need to make sure at 10 we’re solid so there’s probably one more spot there that we need to fill,” Holland said.
“Let’s not forget Rubes [Love] is probably just as capable at 15 as he is at 10, so we’ll see what happens in that space.
“I reckon the last four-to-five weeks have been awesome for him and it will be good to see him kick on for the Wellington Lions.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
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