3 Premiership clubs who should be dusting off the chequebook for Ardie Savea
It was not that long ago that optimistic New Zealand fans – and a fair portion of the media – were lauding Ardie Savea as the successor to Richie McCaw in the All Blacks’ seven jersey.
Even the less optimistic were still sure he would be part of a very competitive battle with Sam Cane for the role and playing time with the international team.
Fast-forward a few years and the former has, unfortunately for Savea, not proven to be the case.
Admittedly, he has won 25 caps for the All Blacks and that’s no mean feat for a retiring veteran, let alone a player at 24 years of age who is not even coming into his ‘peak’ yet, but those caps have clearly come with Savea as the secondary option to Cane. Of those 25 caps, 20 have come from the bench, with starts coming against Samoa, Argentina (twice) and South Africa, as well the most recent being in the third and final Test of the series with France last month, a game in which the series had already been wrapped up by the All Blacks.
There were a few murmurs he could leave Super Rugby as soon as the end of the 2018 season but by recently signing a one-year extension with New Zealand Rugby, Savea has put himself in an enviable position.
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The players’ collective agreement in New Zealand expires at the end of this year and with broadcast revenue increasing due to higher demand and an influx of new platforms, such as Amazon Prime, the allocation of money for player retention is likely to increase significantly going into next year.
This is the perfect situation for Savea.
If he is happy in New Zealand, has another good season with the Hurricanes and either believes he can force his way into the All Blacks XV or is happy to play his role from the bench, he can sign new terms with the Hurricanes and NZR at a substantial increase in earnings.
On the other hand, if he is keen to broaden his horizons and seeks a deal outside New Zealand, he has the prospect of increased wages with NZR to use as leverage and broker a more beneficial deal wherever it is that he would end up.
France would be a good bet.
The earning potential, on average, is unrivalled, the level of competition is good and his brother would be relatively close by, with Julian heading out there later this year to join up with Toulon. Ireland is an outside bet, although mitigated by their rules on non-Irish-qualified players, whilst a number of Top League clubs in Japan have the financial muscle to make Savea a tempting offer, but without the standard of play that he could expect in Europe.
Ultimately, if he chooses not to stay in New Zealand and doesn’t end up in France, the likely alternative is England and the Gallagher Premiership. The salary cap may be lower in England than it is in France, but if he were to find the right team with an open marquee player spot, his earnings could match – or possibly even surpass – those that he would likely make in France.
One of the leading candidates for his signature would undoubtedly be Harlequins.
The south-west London club have recently entered into a cooperation agreement with NZR, one of the key features of which is the club being promoted to Kiwi players as a possible sabbatical destination. This would keep a return to New Zealand and the All Blacks open to Savea, should the situation change domestically while he is abroad.
Quins have the resources to make Savea an attractive offer, they have the lure of London and a back-row that will likely lose the veteran Chris Robshaw in the short-to-medium-term, as well as uncertainty over Jack Clifford, with the former England U20 captain currently suffering through a horrendous run of injuries.
It will be interesting to see how Quins play under new Head of Rugby Paul Gustard, too. If there is an adoption of the defence that Gustard used at Saracens, whereby players commit less to the breakdown and instead ensure the defensive line has width and line-speed on the next phase, it could suit Savea’s mobile game perfectly.
Another option would be Northampton Saints, who will soon come under the stewardship of Savea’s current head coach, Chris Boyd.
With back-rowers Tom Wood, James Haskell and Heinrich Brüssow all now in their 30’s, Northampton, like Quins, could have some openings coming in their loose forwards over the next couple of seasons.
Savea has thrived under Boyd’s guidance at the Hurricanes and Wellington and there’s no doubt that the Kiwi coach would be a swing factor in any bid to lure Savea to Franklin’s Gardens at the end of 2019.
One other club that should be dusting off its chequebook in a bid to snap up the talented back-rower are Bristol Bears.
Bristol have become a fashionable destination for Kiwi players under Pat Lam, with the financial firepower of owner Steve Lansdown, the ambition of the club to become a European force and the presence of the former Blues and Connacht head coach on the sidelines proving to be a potent mix.
The club has already brought in the likes of Steven Luatua and Charles Piutau and although they both come from Lam’s former club in Auckland, it’s not a huge leap to propose that Savea might be interested in joining Lam’s revolution down in the south-west.
He would also join former Hurricanes teammates Alapati Leiua and Jack Lam at Ashton Gate, if he were to make the move.
All three clubs would relish an addition like Savea bolstering their ranks and they wouldn’t go far wrong by reaching out at the end of this Super Rugby season and testing the waters.
If the feedback is positive, they might want to starting setting aside a portion of their 2019/20 budgets.
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to comments