All Blacks axe wing great

GIANT winger Julian Savea has been dumped from the All Blacks squad named to open the Bledisloe Cup defence against the Wallabies.

The scorer of 46 tries in 54 Tests, Savea’s patchy form is reflected in his omission from Steve Hansen’s 33man squad for the Rugby Championship, which begins against Australia in Sydney on August 19. There are no uncapped players in a New Zealand squad featuring the recall of winger Nehe Milner-Skudder and prop Nepo Laulala, who both last played in 2015.