DOUBLE ACT
ABS, Black Ferns target Aussies
There has perhaps never been a better named sportswoman in New Zealand than Black Fern Aroha Savage.
Aroha in Ma¯ ori is affectionate and loving – something her teammates and management can attest to.
But savage? That’s something her opponents can testify to when it comes to her devastating play at No 8 in the black jersey.
Savage is the quiet and caring figure when it comes to the Black Ferns team culture, but has been pulling apart opposition defence lines since 2010.
At 28 she feels like ‘‘the old girl’ of the team because of the new youthful look of the Black Ferns. But at the same time she feels as fit as she has ever been because of the knowledge and technology that is constantly thrown her way.
‘‘I keep thinking ‘oh no, my time may be up soon’, but nope.’’
To an outsider, Savage’s place in the team seems guaranteed, one because she has been there so long and two because three tacklers are usually required to bring down her 87kg frame.
But the apprentice builder says her spot is anything but safe.
‘‘I am never guaranteed my position, but it’s good to have them [young players] around because we can compete for our positions. It can be hard, in terms of keeping my jersey, I am trying to hold on as long as I can. The young ones coming through, they are extremely talented. It is next level rugby, man they keep me on my toes definitely.’’
Savage’s philosophy is to control what you can control. So she keeps her fitness up to scratch, her weight constant, recovery after matches is locked down to the very last detail. That way, if she ends up being dropped, she knows she has just been outplayed.
‘‘We have so much information in front of ourselves about loading, how much running we are doing and all that kind of stuff. Because the girls have learnt this at a younger age they are able to manage their lives properly, around training. So by the time they are my age they won’t be as battered and broken as I am because they have looked after their bodies.
‘‘In the past I think we just ran ourselves ragged and were not worried too much about our recovery. Now recovery is one of the top things on the list. Making sure we rest when we need to rest and train hard when we need to train hard.’’
She admits to waking up ‘‘a bit stiff’’ compared with her younger days.
Savage’s career for the Black Ferns started eight years ago and in that time she has been a part of two World Cup wins and one failure. She says the 2017 win meant the most, because it came off the loss in 2014.
Her engagement to former Black Fern Rawinia Everitt is just one of the many gifts the Black Ferns have sent her way. The pair travelled to Hong Kong after last year’s World Cup to play and coach. Savage joined Societe Generale Valley at the start of the KPMG Women’s Premiership season and also held a coaching role with Hong Kong’s under-16 national age grade side.
‘‘Just a massive life experience. I have travelled a lot of places with the Black Ferns and this team has a massive culture and it is just different to other teams, that’s why I keep coming back. Every year I end up coming back because I miss the team, I miss the girls.’’
When they came home to New Zealand they moved closer to Everett’s family in Mangamuka, Northland, and after Savage is qualified she hopes to one day build the pair a home there, because it beats city life by a country mile, she says.
‘‘We love it up there. We wake up and instead of seeing concrete buildings we are seeing sunrise and fog and mountains, it’s just a nice place to be.’’
She has no plans to retire, but when it happens it’ll be over and done with and no returns.
‘‘In terms of keeping my jersey, I am trying to hold on as long as I can.’’ Aroha Savage