The All Blacks captain shouldn't need a rest after a sabbatical

It’s a no from me.

If Ardie Savea has a personal or family issue to attend to, fine. The birth of a child, good as gold. But if the All Blacks captain is really missing the start of the team’s tour to South Africa so he can freshen up, then I’m unimpressed.

Savea, as we all know, is an incredibly hard-working player. Not especially big or quick, the loose forward has willed himself into being world-class.

By dint of also being among the top handful of New Zealand’s players, he’s going to be picked for all the games that matter.

The All Blacks’ clashes with what we used to call South Africa’s Super Rugby franchises don’t matter. I get that.

Savea needs spells from time to time, and the November games against Scotland and Wales immediately stick out as fixtures that won’t require the skipper’s contribution. Again, fine.

What I’m not fine with, however, is him getting a rest three games into his season and at a time when the All Blacks actually need him.

I don’t give a hoot who Savea played for in Japan in recent months or how they did. He was on “sabbatical,” which, as far as I’m concerned, means a paid holiday.

I’m against sabbaticals in principle and have said so many times. So if we’ve reached the point where our best and brightest need a holiday to recover from their holiday, then we’ve lost the plot.

The results of the All Blacks’ scheduled matches against the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions are irrelevant and, as such, I’d have had no problem with Savea sitting them out. What I do have a problem with is him not being in South Africa at all.

This time last week, I waxed lyrical about this tour and its potential to be the making of this All Blacks side. It’s an opportunity, individually and collectively, for them to get better.

Most Test players are good footballers, but the successful sides are the united ones. The ones where the interests of the group trump the whims and fancies of the so-called stars.

This is star treatment. This is rules for me and not for thee; this is the kind of stuff that undermines the culture I thought the new coaching group was trying to build.

At the risk of repetition, Savea can’t play every game. Captain or not, he has to be given games off purely in principle, let alone because of what he puts his body through during a match.

But this is nonsense.

This is the All Black captain we’re talking about, and he’s going to leave his team to it for a couple of weeks. Not because he’s injured or because he has duties as a father, son or husband to attend to, but because we have to manage his workload.

Has he been milking cows since the All Blacks played Ireland or working on a building site? I thought these sabbaticals were all about physical and mental rejuvenation?

I like and admire Savea in many ways and am delighted he’s now All Black captain. It’s just that, having ascended to that role, I never thought he’d need to take a break from it so quickly.