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'I want to test myself': All Blacks star Ardie Savea reveals shock rugby league ambitions

(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Star All Blacks loose forward Ardie Savea has revealed he is keen to make a shock code swap to rugby league before the end of his career.

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Speaking on The Ice Project podcast, hosted by former rugby league international Isaac John, Savea said that he had been contemplating making a switch to the 13-man game as early as next year.

The 26-year-old, who is currently sidelined with a knee injury sustained during last year’s World Cup, is contracted to New Zealand Rugby until the end of 2021, but told the podcast that he was “low-key thinking about it (a code switch) for next year”.

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Savea cited former All Blacks teammate and new Toronto Wolfpack signing Sonny Bill Williams as a source of inspiration for such a move, which would send shockwaves across both rugby union and league worldwide.

“100 per cent I want to play rugby league, I think they (the players) do a lot more in terms of off the field stuff. And also, just a new challenge. I want to test myself,” Savea said.

“Learning a whole new game and seeing if I can dominate or, play the way I play in union, that excites me. Seeing guys like Sonny do it kind of plays on my mind a bit.”

The Hurricanes veteran ruled out a move to the New Zealand-based Warriors, however, as he admitted that if a move to the NRL came to fruition, he would likely only suit up for a powerhouse club, such as the Sydney Roosters or Melbourne Storm.

“Strategically I would want to got to a team that was dominating, like the Storm or Roosters,” he said.

“It sucks that I got this injury because I was low key thinking about it (switching to league) for next year.”

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Savea’s bombshell revelations comes after former Wallabies pivot Quade Cooper expressed a similar desire to make play rugby league on the same podcast in December.

At the age of 31, though, Cooper’s quest to play in the NRL appears less likely than that of Savea, who is still only 26 and at the peak of his powers, as evidenced by his World Rugby player of the year nomination in 2019.

While the implications of a move by Savea to rugby league would be felt on an enormous scale in both codes, the impact would be particularly damaging for the Hurricanes.

The Wellington-based franchise have already lost their key playmaker Beauden Barrett to the Blues and their head coach John Plumtree to the All Blacks.

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Adding Savea to their departure list beyond next year would be an even more cruel blow for the one-time Super Rugby champions than for the All Blacks, who would still be able to call upon the services of Sam Cane at openside flanker.

The eighth-placed Hurricanes are hopeful Savea will be available for selection by April, about two-to-three months earlier than first anticipated after he underwent knee surgery at the end of last year.

In other news:

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J
JW 30 minutes ago
Let's be real about these All Blacks

I didn't really get the should tone from it, but maybe because I was just reading it as my own thoughts.


What I read it as was examples of how they played well enough in every game to be able to win it.


Yeah I dunno if Ben wouldn't see it that way (someone else would for sure need to point it out to him though), I'm more in the Ben not appreciating that those close losses werent one off scenarios camp. Sure you can look at dubious decisions causing them to have to play with 14 or 13 men at the death as viable reasons but even in the games they won without such difficulties they made a real struggle of it (compared to how good some of their first half play was). This kind of article where you trying to point out the 3 losses really would most likely have been wins only really makes sense/works when your other performances make those 3 games (or endings) stand out.


There might have been a sentence here and there to ensure some good comment numbers but when he's signing off the article by saying things like ..

Whilst these All Blacks aren’t blowing teams off the park like during the 2010s, they are nuggety and resourceful and don’t wilt. They are prepared to win the hard way, accumulating points by any means necessary.

and..

The other top sides in the world struggled to put them away. France and South Africa both could have well been defeated on home soil.

I don't really see it. Always making sure people are upto date with the SH standing/perspective! NZ went through some tough times with so many different perspectives and reasons why, but then it was.. amusing how.. behind everyone was once they turned a corner. More of these 'unfortunate' results returned against SA and France at the start of the RWC which made it extra tasty to catch other teams out when they did bring it. So that created some 'conscious' perspective that I just kept going and sharing re thoughts on similar predicaments of other teams, I had been really confident that Wallabies displays vs NZ were real, that the Argentines can backup their thing against Aus and SA (and so obviously the rest), and current one is that England are actually consistent and improving with their attack (which everyone should get onboard with), and I'm expecting a more dominant display against Japan (even though they should have more of their experienced internationals for this one) that highlights further growth from July. 👍

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