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<\/a> <\/p>\nIt\u2019s a no from me.<\/p>\n
If Ardie Savea has a personal or family issue to attend to, fine. The birth of a child, good as gold. But if the All Blacks<\/a> captain is really missing the start of the team\u2019s tour to South Africa<\/a> so he can freshen up, then I\u2019m unimpressed.<\/p>\n Savea, as we all know, is an incredibly hard-working player. Not especially big or quick, the loose forward has willed himself into being world-class.<\/p>\n By dint of also being among the top handful of New Zealand\u2019s players, he\u2019s going to be picked for all the games that matter.<\/p>\n The All Blacks\u2019 clashes with what we used to call South Africa\u2019s Super Rugby franchises don\u2019t matter. I get that.<\/p>\n Savea needs spells from time to time, and the November games against Scotland<\/a> and Wales<\/a> immediately stick out as fixtures that won\u2019t require the skipper\u2019s contribution. Again, fine.<\/p>\n What I\u2019m not fine with, however, is him getting a rest three games into his season and at a time when the All Blacks actually need him.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t give a hoot who Savea played for in Japan<\/a> in recent months or how they did. He was on \u201csabbatical,\u201d which, as far as I\u2019m concerned, means a paid holiday.<\/p>\n I\u2019m against sabbaticals in principle and have said so many times. So if we\u2019ve reached the point where our best and brightest need a holiday to recover from their holiday, then we\u2019ve lost the plot.<\/p>\n The results of the All Blacks\u2019 scheduled matches against the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls<\/a> and Lions<\/a> are irrelevant and, as such, I\u2019d have had no problem with Savea sitting them out. What I do have a problem with is him not being in South Africa at all.<\/p>\n This time last week, I waxed lyrical about this tour and its potential to be the making of this All Blacks side. It\u2019s an opportunity, individually and collectively, for them to get better.<\/p>\n Most Test players are good footballers, but the successful sides are the united ones. The ones where the interests of the group trump the whims and fancies of the so-called stars.<\/p>\n This is star treatment. This is rules for me and not for thee; this is the kind of stuff that undermines the culture I thought the new coaching group was trying to build.<\/p>\n At the risk of repetition, Savea can\u2019t play every game. Captain or not, he has to be given games off purely in principle, let alone because of what he puts his body through during a match.<\/p>\n But this is nonsense.<\/p>\n This is the All Black captain we\u2019re talking about, and he\u2019s going to leave his team to it for a couple of weeks. Not because he\u2019s injured or because he has duties as a father, son or husband to attend to, but because we have to manage his workload.<\/p>\n