‘I went to escape’: All Black Ardie Savea bracing for tough season in Japan
One month on from the All Blacks’ heartbreaking Rugby World Cup campaign, backrower Ardie Savea is bracing himself for another gruelling after inking a short-term deal in Japan.
Savea just wanted to “escape Super Rugby” for a season but a legendary contingent of the All Blacks’ finest will also ply their trade in the Land of the Rising Sun in the 2023/24 campaign.
The All Blacks vice-captain, who was named World Rugby’s Player of the Year in Paris last month, has penned a one-season deal with Dave Rennie’s Kobelco Steelers in Japan’s Rugby League One.
Savea will pull on the well-known red jersey alongside Brodie Retallick and former New Zealand international Ngani Laumape, and the talent across the board in Japan is equally as destructive.
All Blacks Richie Mo’unga, Shannon Frizell, Aaron Smith and Dane Coles have signed big deals, while captain Sam Cane has taken up a sabbatical with New Zealand Rugby.
The competition will be fierce and passionate as friends and teammates become foes for 80 minutes, so Savea is hoping that “they don’t smash me too much.”
“I went to escape Super Rugby and the Kiwi boys, but they’re all signed to play in Japan,” Savea joked on The Project.
“It’s going to be good to see the likes of and play against Richie (Mo’unga) and Shannon (Frizell) and join up with Ngani.
“It’s going to be good. Hopefully they don’t smash me too much.”
Another All Black is off to Japan, and that man is playmaker Beauden Barrett. Barrett will join Aaron Smith at Toshiba, but the fullback is rumoured to return to New Zealand afterwards.
While the decision to head overseas was widely tipped to bring an end to Barrett’s illustrious All Blacks career, the door appears very much open for a return.
“He’s certainly got the opportunity to come back here, that’s what he wants to do,” New Zealand Rugby men’s head of high-performance Mike Anthony said.
“Like some of the other senior pros, there’s a chance to head away and get a sabbatical and then come back in.”
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So spiteful that the Springboks won again, they just had to change the laws so that they would stand a chance.
Go to commentsWhy would Eben lie? The guy has achieved so much. He saw it as arrogance. Any normal person who plays against the ABs year in and year out would have the same thoughts. Why even talk about the final when you have the biggest game of your lives next week in a stage you have never gotten passed? Rugly is simple in SA. Have fun but the most important thing is respect. I’m not buying any of this misinterpreted nonsense. Eben isn’t English, but no one during that interview was asking what did he say? He's speaking and therefore his understanding is perfectly fine. It was an arrogant thing to say, esp for a team that has never been to a final, never mind a semi. You guys up north can interpret it in a different way if you wish, maybe that s why you don’t win the biggest tournaments.
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