Former Manu Samoa No 10 and freelance rugby scribe Campbell Burnes is mightily impressed by what Ardie Savea has brought to Moana Pasifika.
We always knew Ardie Savea’s signing by Moana Pasifika would be a game changer.
We just didn’t quite know how much it would impact his new team or in exactly what ways.
Any time a team signs a world-class player, as Moana has done, there is a tendency to think he will solve most of the inherent problems, entice more bums on seats, lead by example as the anointed skipper, and help attract other signings.
The 31-year-old Savea has done all that and more in the first month of Super Rugby Pacific.
We knew he was serious when he rocked up to Moana training for a day before Christmas to meet some of his new teammates and show he was fair dinkum about driving this team to greater heights in its fourth season.
The funny thing is, you won’t see Savea’s name in the top 10 of most stats categories after five rounds (at the time of writing). But he doesn’t need to be. He does his thing and plays with his usual passion, running as hard at the end of the game as he does at the start. That shows he is as fit as a buck rabbit and committed to his task.
Richie McCaw was probably the finest lead by example leader in rugby history, but Savea is not too far behind on this evidence.
Rugby being the team game that it is, you cannot always predict how much one man will make the difference. If the scrum goes backwards, the backs muck around with the ball or there is a lack of focus or accuracy, it doesn’t matter if you have the best player in the world, or one of them,
in your midst.
I take notes on each Super Rugby match involving NZ teams. Among those, I include details on who were the best players for each team. On each of the first four occasions I saw Moana play, I wrote down A Savea on that list. It wasn’t a hard call.
Against the Force in the season opener, Savea worked his socks off at No 8 in oppressive heat as Moana lost at the last gasp, despite being the better team.
He was good value again in a hefty loss to the Reds, this time having shifted to No 7, a position in which we may well see him in black later in the year.
Fired up by a personal challenge with Highlanders co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai, in the best traditions of Jerry Collins versus Schalk Burger, Savea had a blinder. His regather of a high ball and 35m sprint for the tryline was a brilliant solo effort and beyond the reach of most loosies.
The confidence that Savea had imbued in the Moana ranks was such that, even when he retired with a tight hamstring at halftime against the Hurricanes, his team kicked on to win a famous victory at its new Albany home.
This 94-Test All Black, who has done it all bar win a Rugby World Cup in his decorated career, is thriving on his latest challenge. It’s a shame he’s apparently taking another sabbatical in 2026 because he’s helping bring the crowds to watch this special team and, just as importantly, he is galvanising all his men. Moana may or may not reach the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs in 2025, but Ardie Savea has helped them find their voice.
