Savea stakes his claim as the man for all seasons
Has there been a better All Blacks forward than Ardie Savea since September? The Hurricanes loose forward has been good at what he is brilliant at and brilliant at what he was not so good at. He has expanded his range, giving the All Blacks something to mull over in the summer months.
If Savea produces the goods against England and Ireland over the next two weeks he will be able say he is now a man for all seasons, even when Sam Cane returns. There is no reason he will not.
Look at the areas of his game where he is having success: the tackle, cover defence, support play, tight play, lineouts, ballcarrying and strength over the ball.
Savea puts the improvements down to mental rather than physical gains but the No 7’s power has been there for all to see.
He has become extremely solid around the upper body and neck – armour plating for the modern-day loose forward who must be equipped to absorb heavy punishment.
It is has been a gradual rather than dramatic transformation but Savea has been able to increase the number of dominant moments in each game.
What has been enjoyable about his form though, has been the All Blacks’ ability to make use of special talents.
While Savea has made shifts to meet the template they demand of a No 7, they have been smart enough to capitalise on his ability to stay on his feet.
Recognising this ability means the All Blacks are getting significant metres after contact by driving behind Savea – witness his try against South Africa in Wellington.
It has brought an unwelcome side-effect. Teams are really trying to chop Savea down around the lower legs.
A few recent examples in the Pumas game in Argentina and the Wallabies game in Tokyo were enough to make you wince. They have not felled Savea yet but it is something officials should keep an eye on if they have an interest in the welfare of his knees.
None of this detracts from Cane’s obvious abilities. This is not a zero-sum game. Appreciating Savea’s attributes does not downgrade Cane’s qualities.
The Chiefs No 7 has become one of the world’s most rugged defenders and a heavy presence at the breakdown. Beauden Barrett’s goalkicking percentages aren’t always a thing of beauty, but they can certainly turn a few heads.
Perfect one night, pretty rotten the next. It seems everyone has got an opinion on the matter no matter which time zone they live in.
So when the subject of Barrett’s accuracy off the tee was raised with All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster in London, it elicited a passionate response in defence of the No 10.
‘‘It’s more talked about by the media than anything,’’ Foster said yesterday. ‘‘I don’t see too many articles from you guys saying he has kicked 11 out of 12 in the last three tests.
‘‘But if he kicks two out of six, and two hit the posts, it’s like a national calamity. So we are pretty happy.’’
When Barrett’s low percentages during the second test against the British and Irish Lions, and in the loss to the Springboks recently, were also raised with Foster he countered by saying it’s just one facet of the game – albeit a very important one.
‘‘But that is like saying that if Handre Pollard had not missed two, then South Africa would have beat England. Look, if you are going to spend all day grizzling about your goalkicker, you lose focus about the overall part of the game.’’
Additionally, he has excellent hands for those close-quarter attacks and little tippasses the All Blacks are so good at.
But not even Cane’s fans would argue that he has the same dynamism as Savea.
Look back at the All Blacks’ scramble defence efforts against the Wallabies in Japan and there is a common denominator – Savea.
He has terrific pace, not the Sevens speed of his earlier days but genuine acceleration.
Of course, the All Blacks have built their current empire from loyalty and will no doubt extend that to Cane if and when he makes his return from his neck injury.
But one year out from the World Cup, the best performances in the All Blacks No 7 jersey in 2018 have come from Savea.