Savea bros team for first time in NPC

Julian Savea made his debut for Wellington in 2010; younger brother Ardie two years later. In the ensuing decade in which both shot to rugby fame from the Oriental-Rongotai club, through to the Hurricanes and All Blacks, they’ve never shared the same Wellington NPC dressing room in a combined 66 matches.

That statistic expires in Hamilton tomorrow when the Savea brothers run out in numbers 11 and 8 respectively, for the Lions’ Mitre 10 Cup opener against Waikato. They last teamed up for the Hurricanes against the Highlanders in June 2018.

New coach Leo Crowley named a powerhouse side yesterday, with All Blacks halfback TJ Perenara and hooker Asafo Aumua also starting under captain Du’Plessis Kirifi, as Wellington chase a first title since 2000 after last year’s Premiership final defeat to Tasman.

It’s been a long way home for Julian Savea who turned 30 last month, having left for French club Toulon in 2018 then announced in May he was returning home from a turbulent stint amid Covid-19.

Now Auckland-based, the former All Blacks tryscoring machine chose his old province over offers from North Harbour and Auckland. The city’s level 3 lockdown meant minimal buildup for Savea’s first Wellington appearance since the 2017 Championship final: one club match for Ories on August 8, and the second half of last Saturday’s pre-season defeat to Manawatu.

Whether he can recapture the old magic which saw him score 46 tries in 54 tests is a compelling angle of this competition.