\u201cWhenever I do get that privilege I don\u2019t take it lightly,\u201d Savea said as the All Blacks finished preparations for their season-opening test against France in Christchurch.<\/p>\n
Ardie Savea says being the All Blacks captain is a privilege he doesn\u2019t take lightly. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
\u201cThis weekend I get another chance to do that. I\u2019m really looking forward to it. I know it brings the best out in me so I\u2019m relishing the challenge of rallying the group together as fast as we can and putting on a great performance on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Savea is a contrasting leader to those who recently went before him \u2013 someone who prefers to largely let his actions inspire. He has typically summoned his best performances when captaining the All Blacks, or any team for that matter. <\/p>\n
Rennie spoke glowingly of Savea\u2019s contribution when he captained Kobe in Japan for one game this season. <\/p>\n
The same was true when he carried Moana Pasifika to the cusp of their maiden playoff appearance \u2013 and was named Super Rugby Pacific player of the year with two regular season rounds remaining \u2013 before joining Rennie in Japan. <\/p>\n
Just as he was for Moana Pasifika, Savea could prove an inspiring presence for the All Blacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think of the leaders and captains who have had a huge impact on me. It\u2019s making me feel seen; it\u2019s giving me space to lead and opportunities to be my authentic self. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it\u2019s around encouraging and empowering my teammates and the people within this legacy to be better. Mainly better men and hopefully better players from that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rennie\u2019s first All Blacks squad features eight players with strong Pasifika heritage \u2013 from test rookies Xavier Numia and Fehi Fineanganofo to Wallace Sititi, Asafo Aumua, Peter Lakai, Caleb Clarke and Patrick Tuipulotu.<\/p>\n
That theme continues to the overhauled management team where Rennie\u2019s Cook Island ties make him the first Pasifika All Blacks head coach. <\/p>\n
Former Moana head coach turned All Blacks defence mentor Fa\u2019alogo Tana Umaga<\/a> was also the first national captain of Pasifika heritage.<\/p>\n Embracing all cultures and traditions will, therefore, be a central element of the Rennie-Savea era.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up around serving my parents and the people in the community around me. That\u2019s the thing I can do in this team; to serve my players, the people and the management and go from there,\u201d Savea said. <\/p>\n As a test centurion and iconic figure, Savea\u2019s rugby legacy is already entrenched. His term as permanent All Blacks captain<\/a>, though, could mark the start of his final chapter in New Zealand rugby. <\/p>\n Savea turns 33 in October and may opt to cash in abroad as a highly desirable free agent beyond next year\u2019s World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a huge task in this highly competitive test rugby landscape where the top eight ranked nations now regularly knock each other over but if Savea can lead the All Blacks to his first World Cup<\/a> triumph in Australia next year, such an achievement would propel him to the pantheon alongside Richie McCaw.<\/p>\n The path to that overarching goal takes its first steps this weekend.<\/p>\n Liam Napier<\/a> is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWhenever I do get that privilege I don\u2019t take it lightly,\u201d Savea said as the All Blacks finished…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5263,95,57425,9082,253374,1558,8136,191425,49722,9635,8985,1221,221,14108,700,1043,50608,111,139,1536,69,126535,2170,15749,138234,103127,54547,9083,26531,16487,28797,253375,213,4497,4412,187620,223,61,1533],"class_list":["post-508577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-all","tag-and","tag-apex","tag-ardie","tag-assuming","tag-been","tag-blacks","tag-captaincy","tag-coaching","tag-dave","tag-era","tag-france","tag-how","tag-however","tag-latest","tag-leadership","tag-mantle","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-next","tag-nz","tag-overshadowed","tag-plan","tag-promotion","tag-rennie","tag-reset","tag-reshape","tag-savea","tag-saveas","tag-shape","tag-significantly","tag-somewhat","tag-sports","tag-start","tag-teams","tag-tenure","tag-the","tag-to","tag-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}