Savea ‘ready, roaring’ to unleash himself: Holland
The biggest Super Rugby crowd for a Blues home game in 15 years is expected to cram Eden Park, with officials tipping it may reach the Auckland stadium’s reduced capacity of 41,000.
And in Dunedin for tonight’s Highlanders v Chiefs match, sales nudged 20,000 with the prospect that, too, could go close to capacity of 22,800.
Dual sellouts would be a dream result for New Zealand Rugby and cashstrapped franchises as rugby-starved fans flock for the first top-level matches in three months. As it stands, the near 60,000 tickets sold at both venues probably exceeded expectations.
Official sales were 38,500 as of late afternoon yesterday for the Blues v Hurricanes match, which would already make it the biggest Super Rugby crowd at Eden Park since May 2005 when 45,000 crammed in for the same two sides in Tana Umaga’s 100th match.
In Dunedin, the Highlanders reported sales fast approaching 20,000 at Forsyth Barr Stadium, 24 hours out from kickoff.
Around 4.45pm tomorrow, Ardie Savea’s nearly eight-month rugby hiatus will be at an end when he gallops onto Eden Park before a predicted crowd of 40,000-plus.
The dynamic All Blacks and Hurricanes loose forward hasn’t played since wrenching his knee in the Rugby World Cup semifinal defeat to England in Yokohama on October 26 – nearly 33 long weeks ago.
So, after a lengthy rehab from knee surgery, is he good to go?
“I’m excited just to see him get unleashed,” said team-mate Scott Scrafton. “He hasn’t played for a long time but at training he’s been roaring, so I know he’s ready.”
Coach Jason Holland yesterday named Savea on a power-packed bench for this much-awaited match against the Blues.
Given his zero minutes of game time it was the prudent thing to do, and Holland expects to inject Savea just after halftime with fellow All Blacks Vaea Fifita and Asafo Aumua in close proximity.
Said Holland: “We think it’s important in this game we’re able to bring on some real power at the 50-minute mark. Ardie is part of that, there’s Vaea [Fifita], there’s Izzy [Walker-Leawere].”
Otherwise Holland’s lineup for their first match since the last-gasp win over the Chiefs on March 13 is near full-strength, bar Jordie Barrett.
The fullback was ruled out on Wednesday with a shoulder injury and Holland confirmed he was never in the running to play, but is optimistic about his inclusion against the Crusaders next Sunday.
Chase Titatia gets the No 15 jersey he ran rampant in against the Sunwolves in Napier in February, while Jackson Garden-Bachop will run the ship and kick the goals from first fiveeighth, ahead of Fletcher Smith who was good against the Chiefs.
In the other tight selection call, Wes Goosen got No 14 ahead of South African wing Kobus van Wyk.
“With this competition we understand we’re not going to be able to play the same group the whole way through so there will be a bit of rotation,” Holland said.
Last time they faced the Blues, the ill-disciplined Hurricanes were reduced to 12 men at one stage and lost 24-15 at home in March.
Prop Tyrel Lomax – red carded for a dangerous tackle that night – served just one match of his original threeweek ban which was then wiped during the three-month Covid-19 hiatus.
The Blues were on a four-match winning streak before lockdown, but the Hurricanes know how to succeed at Eden Park having won their last five visits there.
Former Hurricane Beauden Barrett – like Savea – will play his first match since the World Cup when he dons blue, and Holland was wary but far from daunted by the All Blacks star’s presence at fullback.
“There’s little things we know around how Beaudy plays, and we’ve seen him play really well and really poorly for the Hurricanes at times. We have an idea around how we can put him under pressure.”