Rookie loose forward Ardie Savea has been given his opportunity in the All Blacks number-seven jersey, and for the many fans who have raised him to cult status, he must now show he is more than just an explosive cameo off the bench.
Savea was named to start at openside flanker for the Rugby Championship clash against South Africa in Christchurch tomorrow after Sam Cane suffered a hamstring injury that may rule him out for six weeks.
The 22-year-old Savea has made five appearances off the bench since his debut against Wales in Auckland in June.
Such was his impact after just 19 minutes at Eden Park that the following week, admittedly on his home ground in Wellington, a crowd burst into chants of “Ardie! Ardie! Ardie!” when he started warming up.
The fact that the dynamic Savea scored a try from more than 30 metres only increased the clamour in the rugby-mad country for his elevation above Cane, who had spent four years as Richie McCaw’s understudy.
Cane, however, has taken his game to another level since McCaw’s retirement with his core defensive work, clearing out at the breakdown and attempts to steal or slow opposition ball.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was initially cagey about giving Savea the starting spot after Cane was injured in the 57-22 victory over Argentina in Hamilton. His biggest concern has been whether Savea could handle the intense physicality of a rugby Test for 80 minutes, though interest will also focus on whether he executes core skills as well as his flashy ones.
“It will be two or three steps up from where he has been,” Hansen told reporters yesterday. “But look, he has come off the bench before. He knows what it is going to feel like. He just has to go out and do it.”
Savea’s inclusion was the only change to Hansen’s starting side, with outhalf Lima Sopoaga coming on to the bench for the injured Aaron Cruden.
While the Springboks are New Zealand’s traditional rivals, they have struggled under new coach Allister Coetzee and were poor in their 23-17 loss to the Wallabies last week.
That led to intense criticism in South Africa, whose media labelled Coetzee as “out of his depth”. The team, though missing several players to long-term injury, were accused of getting worse each week.
“The Boks, in search of excellence, surely have to aim for more than losing efforts described as ‘spirited’ . . . This is the Springboks we’re talking about, not a third-tier evolving rugby nation,” wrote rugby journalist Mark Keohane.
