{"id":611898,"date":"2026-09-26T00:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T00:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/611898\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T00:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T00:44:11","slug":"ardie-savea-heading-to-the-blues-for-2027-super-rugby-pacific-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/611898\/","title":{"rendered":"Ardie Savea heading to the Blues for 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s only one destination for All Blacks captain Ardie Savea in next year\u2019s Super Pacific Competition and that’s the Blues.<\/p>\n

On social media Savea has teased where he\u2019ll end up following the demise of Moana Pasifika earlier this year. He\u2019s posted an image of an airport departures board (or was it an arrivals board?) with several destinations on it. There\u2019s no Auckland or Hamilton, but Auckland is where he\u2019ll end up. On the same social post, he signed a “contract” in what looked like an office or a bedroom from the Apocalypse Now movie (Google the ceiling fan scene if in doubt).<\/p>\n

But we all got the drift.<\/p>\n

For the sake of rugby union, Savea, in the immortal words of LeBron James, will be “taking his talents” to Takapuna Beach \u2013 or any Auckland beach, for that matter.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s biggest rugby market had a taste of topline Savea in Super Rugby with Moana in 2025. He pretty much saved Super that year. His play was immense, tackle bust after tackle bust, turnovers, even kick and chase. Golden Savea leading from the front and almost hauling Moana into the playoffs. The scenes he and his team created provided a breath of fresh air for an ailing competition.<\/p>\n

Savea\u2019s Auckland future is exactly what rugby union needs in its biggest market, as the Warriors come off the back of a monumental regular season (playoffs?) with sold-out venues and a mountain of interest that union can only envy.<\/p>\n

What Savea will bring \u2013 once he\u2019s over his shoulder injury<\/a> \u2013 is star quality on and off the field, genuine not manufactured interest. There\u2019s no doubt he\u2019ll provide on the field as he always does. The game, though, needs his profile away from the playing pitch. From a huge social media following to popularity across the spectrum and in different socio-economic areas, Savea easily becomes the face of a franchise without forcing the issue.<\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

All Blacks captain Ardie Savea has undergone shoulder surgery, saying he’ll be “back soon”. (Source: Ardie Savea\/Instagram)<\/p>\n

The concern for rugby in its biggest market is the draw of league. There\u2019s evidence of junior numbers dropping off, with players heading to the more eye-catching code. There\u2019s the all-star enticement and promotion, let alone dollars in the NRL. Savea has the capability of maybe drawing some of those young players back. He definitely has the pulling power to draw some disillusioned fans back. He has the power to also drag sponsors in as well.<\/p>\n

The Blues are trying a host of new ideas in and around games. They\u2019re wanting to make a visit to Eden Park a lot more fan-centric. That\u2019s where Savea in a Blues jersey will help immensely. He\u2019s always struck me as someone willing to try new things, give something a crack, have fun. An organic enjoyment, rather than a scripted marketing ploy. You can bet your bottom dollar New Zealand Rugby officials will be over the moon Savea is heading back to the Auckland market (although many in head office where vehemently against Savea joining Moana Pasifika in the first place).<\/p>\n

On the playing side of things, who better to mentor the Blues’ young loose forward tearaways \u2013 Anton Segner, Malachi Wrampling and Torian Barnes \u2013 than the All Blacks captain. Who better to draw the best out of the returning Reiko Ioane than Ardie Savea.<\/p>\n

My understanding is Savea enjoyed his time based on Auckland\u2019s North Shore during his Moana campaign \u2013 a natural, relaxed fit for him and is family. He\u2019ll also be set to play in one of his biggest seasons in 2027, with one of his longest enforced breaks in years. A World Cup year as All Blacks captain and Blues star has a strong ring to it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure our biggest city and largest, most intense sporting market will welcome back Savea with open arms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s only one destination for All Blacks captain Ardie Savea in next year\u2019s Super Pacific Competition and that’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[789,33339,111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-611898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-all-blacks","tag-blues","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611898","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=611898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}