All Blacks captain Ardie Savea is on a long-term management plan that will likely see him start against Ireland after Saturday's Test against Italy in Wellington before he sits out the start of his side’s gruelling tour of South Africa.
Having coached Savea to a Japan League One championship at Kobe recently, All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie is probably in the perfect place to know the state of his skipper's physical and mental energy levels, which he touched on last night when quizzed on whether there was any thought of leaving the 32-year-old out of Saturday's Test against the Azzurri.
"We’ve certainly talked long-term about Ardie," Rennie replied. "He's been going for a lot of months. Obviously, we managed him very well in Kobe to make sure he could come back and be ready to go in this series. The plan is we’ll play him in these three Tests and we might delay his start in Africa. We’ll make a call on that in the next week or so."
Savea, who has replaced the injured Scott Barrett as captain, is a hugely influential part of the group, and it is an influence that extends beyond his significant deeds on the field.
Those observing the All Blacks warm up before their victory over France last weekend would have seen the concern on Rennie’s face when Savea went down apparently injured off the ball when taking part in a defensive drill.
It turned out that Savea had suffered an issue with a nerve in his groin which made his thigh numb – fortunately it was only temporary and he played the entire 80 minutes of the 34-32 victory, but, with blood dripping from an ear afterwards he did not cut an entirely healthy figure.
Providing Savea gets through Saturday, and it would not surprise to see him replaced by Anton Segner midway through the second half if the match is going in the All Blacks’ favour, he will face Ireland at Eden Park a week later before an extended break ahead of the four Tests against the Springboks on a tour that starts next month.
The All Blacks play the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls before the first Test against the Boks in Johannesburg on August 23.
Savea's immediate task is starting at No.8 alongside openside flanker Luke Jacobson on Saturday, with Wallace Sititi replacing Peter Lakai in the No.6 jersey.
In discussing his selections, Rennie reiterated his desire for cohesion and combinations which saw the spine of his team retained.
A significant omission, for the second week, was Beauden Barrett, but, with Ruben Love and Damian McKenzie retained at No.10 and fullback respectively, others could provide more meaningful cover on the reserves bench, Rennie said.
“Beauden’s been really excellent, he added. "He’s been training really well and contributing really well. He carved us up a handful of times at training today. But, again, Ruben’s first Test at 10 last week, [he] played really well, playing back at home, the connection with these guys [halfback Cam Roigard and centre Billy Proctor], we’re keen to play him again.
“With DMac out the back, we’ve got probably other positions on the bench that give us better cover.”
Will Jordan’s retention at right wing meant his combination with McKenzie continues. The pair gelled well after McKenzie was forced to move to first-five after Ruben Love's second-minute sinbinning for a high tackle on France fullback Max Spring.
“Everyone keeps talking about Will being out of position," Rennie said. "I think he’s scored 37 tries for the All Blacks on the wing (and 47 in total). He’s pretty comfortable there. Having him and Damian on the field means we’ve got two really high-quality fullbacks on the field. I’m not necessarily saying we’ll do that all year, but we were keen to keep that combination going.”
Roigard, asked about the way Hurricanes teammate Love recovered from his yellow card, said: “I wouldn’t have expected him to dwell on it too much. He still had 70 minutes to play and a massive opportunity because he played a massive part in getting the result we needed. It was obviously not the ideal start to your first start at 10 but he bounced back pretty well.”
Meanwhile, Rennie confirmed prop Tamaiti Williams, diagnosed with a spinal condition during Super Rugby Pacific in March, would not make the trip to South Africa.
He also said Segner’s family would be travelling from Germany to watch the Blues loose forward’s Test debut.
All Blacks match-day 23 to play Italy
(Test caps in brackets; * denotes debutant)
1. Ethan de Groot (41), 2. Codie Taylor (107), 3. Tyrel Lomax (49), 4. Sam Darry (9), 5. Tupou Vaa’i (45), 6. Wallace Sititi (20), 7. Luke Jacobson (25), 8. Ardie Savea (107), (Captain), 9. Cam Roigard (18), 10. Ruben Love (6), 11. Leroy Carter (6), 12. Jordie Barrett (79), 13. Billy Proctor (12), 14. Will Jordan (55),15. Damian McKenzie (75).
Reserves: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho (43), 17. George Bower (25), 18. Pasilio Tosi (16), 19. Josh Lord (13), 20. Anton Segner *, 21. Cortez Ratima (22), 22. Anton Lienert-Brown (88), 23. Josh Moorby *.
Unavailable due to injury: Fehi Fineanganofo (shoulder strain)
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