Savea cops mouthguard ‘lesson’ on chin from wife
Sydney: Ardie Savea was ready for the mouthguard question when it came yesterday.
The All Blacks flanker’s lack of protective equipment for his pearly whites has been a hot topic after Stuff highlighted his reluctance to wear it, prompting a slap on the wrist from employers New Zealand Rugby.
However, Savea wore his hot pink guard against the Pumas last weekend – the colour was chosen by his daughter – and produced it during a Zoom call from Sydney, while revealing that some advice from his wife was behind his change of heart.
“To be honest it’s probably my fault and a pill I had to swallow,” Savea said.
“Obviously being told a couple of years ago and continuing not to wear one....It’s a hard lesson I’ve learnt and my wife talked to me about integrity.
“I understand the role I play in being someone that a lot of people look up to.
“I’ve got to keep my integrity and my wife doesn’t want to see me with no teeth, and my daughter picked the colour. “Pink, nice and bright, I like it.”
Although Savea is not obliged to wear a mouthguard by World Rugby, NZ Rugby has been on his case about it since 2013, when he was sent from the field by referee Nick Briant to fetch one during a Wellington-Canterbury game.
Despite that incident, Savea continued to avoid mouthguards in the seven years that followed and through this year’s Bledisloe series, sparking a rebuke from Chris Lendrum, NZ Rugby’s general manager of professional rugby and performance.
“I did not see that myself but if that is the case then that is obviously incredibly disappointing,” Lendrum said when asked by Stuff about the issue after the Bledisloe test in Brisbane. We expect our professional players to set the standard and role model for all of our players in the community and their whanau.”
The message now appears to have been heard loud and clear by Savea, who frequently shows scant regard for his body in the way he charges into contact and puts his head over the ball at the breakdown. Source: stuff.co.nz