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Julian Savea concedes he left New Zealand 'too early' as he reflects on career
By Kim Ekin
All Black Julian Savea is set to bring up his 150th game for the Hurricanes, a significant milestone which has been achieved over two stints with the club.
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The man known as ‘The Bus’ in the nation’s capital debuted in 2011 for the Hurricanes and spent eight seasons there before taking up a deal in France in 2018 with Toulon.
On return to New Zealand in 2020, Savea returned to the Wellington Lions for the NPC before signing with the Hurricanes for 2021 where he has played since for three more seasons.
Reflecting on what has been a long career in New Zealand rugby, Savea didn’t hold regrets but would’ve stay longer if he had the chance to re-do it.
“In all seriousness, I have no regrets,” Savea told Newshub.
“For me, the only thing is I probably would have loved to stay here and left here after 2019, instead of leaving in 2018.
“I just feel like I left too early, that’s all.”
Savea’s form in 2015 as part of the World Cup-winning All Blacks side was devastating, taking the world by storm at the showpiece event and scoring a hat-trick against France in the quarter-final.
However he didn’t get the chance to attend a second World Cup in 2019 having left New Zealand and in the process becoming ineligible for selection.
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The third Test against the British & Irish Lions in 2017 is currently his last in the black jersey.
The 54-Test All Black scored 46 tries at international level, just three shy of Doug Howlett’s record of 49.
On his rocky stint in France with Toulon, Savea said he had plans to go back after an enjoyable lifestyle experience off the pitch.
“It wasn’t the best experience, but I wouldn’t say it was bad,” he said of his Toulon stint.
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“The lifestyle, the people and the culture I got to experience was awesome.
“They did run things a little bit different over there, but you’ve just got to adapt. That’s not to say I didn’t have the best time there, because I did.
“My family, we really enjoyed our time and our experience there, we made a lot of friends over there. We’re definitely looking to go back and visit those guys.”
Returning to the Hurricanes set up has allowed Savea to continue to become one of the most capped player’s in the club’s history.
He also sits just two tries shy of Israel Folau’s Super Rugby record of 60, with 58.
He is in a race to break the record with teammate TJ Perenara, who is also the club’s most capped player with 151 .
“It’s special, for me anyway, to get 150,” he said of the milestone.
“To play one game is awesome, I remember when I started, it was a dream come true.
“I’m not sure if you remember the backline, but I was taken back by the star power we had in 2011.
“To finally get here, and come back from France and get to a milestone like this is pretty special.”
He'll be remembered as one of NZ's great wingers and also one of NZ's great oddities... Savea's form had dropped so dramatically after 2016 that he was in trouble of being left out of his NPC team. It didn't seem like anyone at Toulon had been watching him play before they signed him and that was reflected in his reviews.