Jeff Wilson believes that New Zealand teams won\u2019t be sucked into a bidding war over Ardie Savea\u2019s services ahead of next year\u2019s Super Rugby Pacific season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The All Blacks back-rower was set to rejoin Moana Pasifika following his latest stint in Japan with the Kobelco Kobe Steelers as per his New Zealand Rugby contract, which runs to the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n
However, he is now looking for an alternative destination after the news of Moana\u2019s disbandment<\/a> at the end of the current Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> season.<\/p>\n Ardie Savea\u2019s future<\/p>\n He is not alone with all of the Pasifika players needing to find a new club, which won\u2019t be an issue for Savea and captain Miracle Fai\u2019ilagi, according to former All Blacks<\/a> fly-half Stephen Donald.<\/p>\n \u201cThose two players have got no stress,\u201d Donald said on Sky Sport\u2019s Breakdown show.<\/p>\n \u201cThey will have every team in the world asking about their availability. It\u2019s the guys who are in the reserves and stuff like that. It\u2019s the not-so-big-name players who are going to be stressing a lot more at the moment. Clearly, Ardie is going to end up at a New Zealand franchise next year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s probably the hardest question for anybody to answer,\u201d Wilson replied.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to look at the impact he could have, and I\u2019d imagine next year he\u2019ll probably be on a minutes restriction with it being a World Cup year. So how many games is he actually going to play?\u201d<\/p>\n Why there won\u2019t be a bidding war<\/p>\n Crippling financial pressure led to Moana\u2019s demise after the club stopped receiving funding from World Rugby while their owners, the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA), are unable to bankroll the team beyond the current season, with their finances being compromised too.<\/p>\n Savea\u2019s<\/a> salary was set to be compensated by a third-party, with a report in the New Zealand Herald stating that Moana had managed to outbid the Hurricanes<\/a> when the All Blacks star signed a new deal with NZ Rugby in 2024.<\/p>\n NZ Super Rugby clubs have been coy on the prospect of signing Savea following the news of Moana\u2019s disbandment, with reports suggesting that the Blues are in pole position to land his signature. Wilson predicts that there won\u2019t be a bidding war for Savea\u2019s services as New Zealand teams simply don\u2019t have the money to pay a premium for the loose forward, who may be on limited minutes in preparation for the World Cup.<\/p>\n Hurricanes\u2019 \u2018insensitive\u2019 verdict on Ardie Savea talk in the wake of Moana Pasifika\u2019s demise<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing that no one\u2019s going to get into is a bidding war because no one\u2019s got any money; that\u2019s the reality,\u201d the former winger said.<\/p>\n \u201cArdie has got to make a decision about what\u2019s going to be in the best interests of him and the team he goes to, and how he fits in. But also, what is it going to help him do in terms of preparation for a Rugby World Cup? It\u2019s a really important decision because we know how impactful he can be. But there\u2019s a lot of established loose forward trios out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Ardie Savea\u2019s \u2018preferred\u2019 Super Rugby destination revealed amid speculation after Moana Pasifika\u2019s demise<\/a><\/p>\n Why a return to the Hurricanes is unlikely<\/p>\n \u201cI literally have no idea. I\u2019d be straight guessing,\u201d he added when pressed as to which club Savea could join.<\/p>\n With Hoksins Sotutu joining the Newcastle Red Bulls and Dalton Papali\u2019i heading to French club Castres, the Blues could be in the market for a world-class loose forward ahead of the 2027 campaign.<\/p>\n A return to the Hurricanes looks unlikely, considering that they didn\u2019t have the finances to match Moana\u2019s offer in 2024, while the Wellington club already has a plethora of talented loose forwards on its books.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m telling you, the Super Rugby franchises aren\u2019t flush with money,\u201d Wilson added.<\/p>\n