September 5, 2025 • 10 mins
Among the potential bits of history to be made in tomorrow night's massive Rugby Championship match in Auckland is a milestone that's gone somewhat under the radar.
Loose forward Ardie Savea is set to bring up his 100th test in a game at Eden Park where the All Blacks' impressive unbeaten run is set to be threatened by the Springboks.
Ardie Savea debuted in June 2016, coming off the bench in a 39-21 win over Wales at Eden Park
Chris Boyd gave Ardie Savea his Wellington debut in 2012 and coached him there until 2014, and then as coach of the Hurricanes between 2015 and 2018. He joined Piney to discuss Savea’s incredible career.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talks ed B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In this one, it is an extra special night tonight
of course for one player in particular.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Fifteen in fine Irish territory. Artie Savea is brucking through
Parti Savia, Paddick checks Paddick u Ardy Savia another one
for the All Blacks that was too easy for RIDI
and the All Blacks are haven't fun at eden Park tonight?
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Heah, let's say Bartie has fun at eden Park tonight.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Artie Savier will become the fifteenth man to bring up
one hundred Test matches for the All Blacks. He will
be the fourth loose forward to reach that mark Richie
McCourt one hundred and forty eight, Karen Read one hundred
and twenty seven and Sam Kine one hundred and four
test matches. Artie Savier is also the highest try scoring
forward in All Blacks.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Test history with thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
He debuted in June of twenty sixteen, coming off the
bench in a thirty nine twenty one win over.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Wales at Eden Park.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Chris Boyd gave Ardie Savier his Wellington debut twenty twelve
and coached him there until twenty fourteen, and then coached
him as head coach of the Hurricanes between twenty fifteen
and twenty eighteen. Chris bord is with us on weekends
for Chris, When did you first become aware of Ardie
Savia around the Wellington club scene?
Speaker 5 (01:24):
I think he was about seven and he was already
standing out, you know, I think he was seven years
old playing in an under thirteen competition and he already
stood out. Say, you know, some some players, you know,
have to work hard. I'm not saying he doesn't work hard,
(01:45):
because it's one of us hormatches. He is a hard worker.
But you know he he had physical and mental prowess
as a very young man. Particularly you know, I remember
at Wrongtai College seeing him and thinking, you know, you
look at a kid and you think, well, I think
he's good enough to be an all black. But if you,
you know, say those things public and people think you're
(02:07):
getting carried away. But he certainly stood out as a
very young man.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
When he first came into the representative environment with Wellington
and then on towards the Hurricanes. Where did you see
him grow during that time? As he became a professional
rugby player.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
I think the interesting thing the year before when he
was it WRONGATAI. You know, he was in a New
Zealand schools team that, funny enough had I think Patrick
Turpilotto was in it, Roger turvashi Check was in it.
Namely Lamarki was on that side. But he was a
golden boot in that period of time, so you know,
he already stood out. But he's the thing that I
(02:45):
admired him the most for in a lot of ways.
And it was a bit of a struggle for him
as well. As he climbed the ranks from you know
NPC to Super Rugby to all Blacks. There was always
there was always pressure on him to get heavier, to
be bigger, and I did feel particularly sorry for him.
(03:07):
He was you know, he got to a point where
he didn't actually really enjoy eating because it was not
something that was pleasurable. It's something that he had to
do to try and get his weight up. And he
was always fairly bloody minded about it. Is that, yes,
he knew he could do with a few extra kegs,
but he just worked incredibly hard at the things that
(03:30):
he was really good at, and you know, It's carried
him a long way.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Hindsight's always twenty twenty, of course, Chris. But but could
you tell that he was not only going to be
an All Black but a great All Black?
Speaker 5 (03:44):
I think he had the potential to be. And again,
you know, he was in the two thousand and thirteen
on the twenty side in France, and Scott Barrett It's
Patrick were both on that side. But in that side,
Ardie was absolutely clearly the best player for New Zealand.
(04:08):
It wasn't a terribly successful campaign, but he stood out
completely And I always thought he had the potential to
be great because Ardie marches to the beat of his
own drum. He's not conventional in his thinking, but he's very,
(04:30):
very committed to what he thinks is right and wrong
and and he's a great teamman. And you know, he
puts a lot of effort, a lot of effort into
doing the best for a team. And so he was.
He was a gifted athlete in some ways. Although on
a Sunday morning when you saw him at recovery, had
(04:51):
you know the way he hobbled around, you'd think, you know,
he wasn't. But you know, he's physically capable. He's mentally
very tough and very determined, very resilient, and he's open
minded and a learner, and so that combination is, you know,
carries you a long way, and he's a good bloat.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
In many ways, he's redefined the role of the all
purpose lose forward as well. It doesn't really seem to
matter which number he's wearing on his back. What did
you ask of him when he was in your sides?
Speaker 5 (05:23):
I don't think, like anybody really, all you can ask
from people is to do their best and make sure
they'd give you everything. And so that was pretty easy
for Ardia. You know, he was probably being one of
the most consistent performers. You know, he doesn't very often
have a bad game. He's very capable of a great game,
(05:44):
but he doesn't very often have a bad game either.
So his consistency is really high, and that's based around
mentally and physical preparation, which he's very good at both.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
How deep is his influence on the players he plays alongside.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
I think it's well documented at Artie's not a huge
talker in that respect. He's you know, he's he's not
an orator or a conventional leader in respect of he's
a bit of a I'll do my talking on the field,
follow me. So he's got some fairly strong views about
(06:26):
different things off the field, but on the field and
in the rugby environment, you know, it's all about just
working out what his role is, what he needs to do,
preparing himself the best he can and delivering, you know,
for you. So he is a great person to have
in a team environment.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
Did the two of you ever disagree as player and coach?
Speaker 5 (06:52):
I don't remember ever having a disagreement with Artie. I
think we were reasonably aligned. I just wanted him to
go out and express himself and be the best he
could be and if if, if that meant whatever it meant,
it meant. And so you didn't need to be hard
(07:14):
on those boys around around around some of the decisions
and mistakes, because invariably they were harder on themselves than
probably I would have been anyway. So it's pretty easy
to coach, very open minded, very keen to be the
best it can be, and you know, gave himself to
(07:35):
the team.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yep, special occasion for a special plataut. How do you
reckon the all blacks will go against? However, get a night.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
Well, clearly my hearts says the All Blacks. I think
it's been very interesting that South Africa have picked Laruette,
Fallback and Pilart at ten and they've been quite conservative
around their forward selections and the respect of you know,
(08:07):
they they're very good at the South African type of role.
So I think the interesting thing for South Africa and
interesting for Tony Brown as well when he's if South
Africa want to play a more expensive and a higher
risk game, it's not in the nature of their culture,
and I think by that selection, what we've seen here
(08:29):
is that they're going to I'd be surprised if they
don't go back to type. So they're going to go physicality,
set piece, aerial game territory and try and try and
go back to their to their DNA, which is their grind.
That's what the selection tells me. Can we stand up
to their grind? I think we probably can, but I
(08:52):
think it's going to be close.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
All right, Chris, got to leave it there, mate, But
thanks for your recollections, and I guess thank you for
picking Ardie Savia, although who by the sounds of it,
he was turning not just your head but everybody's head
around Wellington rugby circles at the back end of the
two thousands and into the twenty tenths, Wellington debut in
twenty twelve, Hurricanes debut the following year, and then of
(09:14):
course he went on that end of season two of
the All.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Blacks as the very first apprentice All Black.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
That was a new innovation at the time where they
would take a player like Ardie Savia just to get
him into the environment, to show on what it might
be like and maybe fire in him a desire to
become a proper All Black. Well he did that and
he came an absolutely proper All Black in every single
sense of the word when he made his debut against
(09:41):
Wales off the bench in twenty sixteen at Eden Park
and then went on to become one.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
Of our greats, still as one of our greats, and.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Tonight will become our fifteenth Test Centurion when he runs
out on Eden Park in the number seven Jersey Tonight
for the All Blacks.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Faine, listen live
to Newstalk ZEDB weekends from midday or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talks ed B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In this one, it is an extra special night tonight
of course for one player in particular.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Fifteen in fine Irish territory. Artie Savea is brucking through
Parti Savia, Paddick checks Paddick u Ardy Savia another one
for the All Blacks that was too easy for RIDI
and the All Blacks are haven't fun at eden Park tonight?
Speaker 4 (00:32):
Heah, let's say Bartie has fun at eden Park tonight.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Artie Savier will become the fifteenth man to bring up
one hundred Test matches for the All Blacks. He will
be the fourth loose forward to reach that mark Richie
McCourt one hundred and forty eight, Karen Read one hundred
and twenty seven and Sam Kine one hundred and four
test matches. Artie Savier is also the highest try scoring
forward in All Blacks.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Test history with thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
He debuted in June of twenty sixteen, coming off the
bench in a thirty nine twenty one win over.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Wales at Eden Park.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Chris Boyd gave Ardie Savier his Wellington debut twenty twelve
and coached him there until twenty fourteen, and then coached
him as head coach of the Hurricanes between twenty fifteen
and twenty eighteen. Chris bord is with us on weekends
for Chris, When did you first become aware of Ardie
Savia around the Wellington club scene?
Speaker 5 (01:24):
I think he was about seven and he was already
standing out, you know, I think he was seven years
old playing in an under thirteen competition and he already
stood out. Say, you know, some some players, you know,
have to work hard. I'm not saying he doesn't work hard,
(01:45):
because it's one of us hormatches. He is a hard worker.
But you know he he had physical and mental prowess
as a very young man. Particularly you know, I remember
at Wrongtai College seeing him and thinking, you know, you
look at a kid and you think, well, I think
he's good enough to be an all black. But if you,
you know, say those things public and people think you're
(02:07):
getting carried away. But he certainly stood out as a
very young man.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
When he first came into the representative environment with Wellington
and then on towards the Hurricanes. Where did you see
him grow during that time? As he became a professional
rugby player.
Speaker 5 (02:23):
I think the interesting thing the year before when he
was it WRONGATAI. You know, he was in a New
Zealand schools team that, funny enough had I think Patrick
Turpilotto was in it, Roger turvashi Check was in it.
Namely Lamarki was on that side. But he was a
golden boot in that period of time, so you know,
he already stood out. But he's the thing that I
(02:45):
admired him the most for in a lot of ways.
And it was a bit of a struggle for him
as well. As he climbed the ranks from you know
NPC to Super Rugby to all Blacks. There was always
there was always pressure on him to get heavier, to
be bigger, and I did feel particularly sorry for him.
(03:07):
He was you know, he got to a point where
he didn't actually really enjoy eating because it was not
something that was pleasurable. It's something that he had to
do to try and get his weight up. And he
was always fairly bloody minded about it. Is that, yes,
he knew he could do with a few extra kegs,
but he just worked incredibly hard at the things that
(03:30):
he was really good at, and you know, It's carried
him a long way.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Hindsight's always twenty twenty, of course, Chris. But but could
you tell that he was not only going to be
an All Black but a great All Black?
Speaker 5 (03:44):
I think he had the potential to be. And again,
you know, he was in the two thousand and thirteen
on the twenty side in France, and Scott Barrett It's
Patrick were both on that side. But in that side,
Ardie was absolutely clearly the best player for New Zealand.
(04:08):
It wasn't a terribly successful campaign, but he stood out
completely And I always thought he had the potential to
be great because Ardie marches to the beat of his
own drum. He's not conventional in his thinking, but he's very,
(04:30):
very committed to what he thinks is right and wrong
and and he's a great teamman. And you know, he
puts a lot of effort, a lot of effort into
doing the best for a team. And so he was.
He was a gifted athlete in some ways. Although on
a Sunday morning when you saw him at recovery, had
(04:51):
you know the way he hobbled around, you'd think, you know,
he wasn't. But you know, he's physically capable. He's mentally
very tough and very determined, very resilient, and he's open
minded and a learner, and so that combination is, you know,
carries you a long way, and he's a good bloat.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
In many ways, he's redefined the role of the all
purpose lose forward as well. It doesn't really seem to
matter which number he's wearing on his back. What did
you ask of him when he was in your sides?
Speaker 5 (05:23):
I don't think, like anybody really, all you can ask
from people is to do their best and make sure
they'd give you everything. And so that was pretty easy
for Ardia. You know, he was probably being one of
the most consistent performers. You know, he doesn't very often
have a bad game. He's very capable of a great game,
(05:44):
but he doesn't very often have a bad game either.
So his consistency is really high, and that's based around
mentally and physical preparation, which he's very good at both.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
How deep is his influence on the players he plays alongside.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
I think it's well documented at Artie's not a huge
talker in that respect. He's you know, he's he's not
an orator or a conventional leader in respect of he's
a bit of a I'll do my talking on the field,
follow me. So he's got some fairly strong views about
(06:26):
different things off the field, but on the field and
in the rugby environment, you know, it's all about just
working out what his role is, what he needs to do,
preparing himself the best he can and delivering, you know,
for you. So he is a great person to have
in a team environment.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
Did the two of you ever disagree as player and coach?
Speaker 5 (06:52):
I don't remember ever having a disagreement with Artie. I
think we were reasonably aligned. I just wanted him to
go out and express himself and be the best he
could be and if if, if that meant whatever it meant,
it meant. And so you didn't need to be hard
(07:14):
on those boys around around around some of the decisions
and mistakes, because invariably they were harder on themselves than
probably I would have been anyway. So it's pretty easy
to coach, very open minded, very keen to be the
best it can be, and you know, gave himself to
(07:35):
the team.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yep, special occasion for a special plataut. How do you
reckon the all blacks will go against? However, get a night.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
Well, clearly my hearts says the All Blacks. I think
it's been very interesting that South Africa have picked Laruette,
Fallback and Pilart at ten and they've been quite conservative
around their forward selections and the respect of you know,
(08:07):
they they're very good at the South African type of role.
So I think the interesting thing for South Africa and
interesting for Tony Brown as well when he's if South
Africa want to play a more expensive and a higher
risk game, it's not in the nature of their culture,
and I think by that selection, what we've seen here
(08:29):
is that they're going to I'd be surprised if they
don't go back to type. So they're going to go physicality,
set piece, aerial game territory and try and try and
go back to their to their DNA, which is their grind.
That's what the selection tells me. Can we stand up
to their grind? I think we probably can, but I
(08:52):
think it's going to be close.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
All right, Chris, got to leave it there, mate, But
thanks for your recollections, and I guess thank you for
picking Ardie Savia, although who by the sounds of it,
he was turning not just your head but everybody's head
around Wellington rugby circles at the back end of the
two thousands and into the twenty tenths, Wellington debut in
twenty twelve, Hurricanes debut the following year, and then of
(09:14):
course he went on that end of season two of
the All.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Blacks as the very first apprentice All Black.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
That was a new innovation at the time where they
would take a player like Ardie Savia just to get
him into the environment, to show on what it might
be like and maybe fire in him a desire to
become a proper All Black. Well he did that and
he came an absolutely proper All Black in every single
sense of the word when he made his debut against
(09:41):
Wales off the bench in twenty sixteen at Eden Park
and then went on to become one.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
Of our greats, still as one of our greats, and.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Tonight will become our fifteenth Test Centurion when he runs
out on Eden Park in the number seven Jersey Tonight
for the All Blacks.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Faine, listen live
to Newstalk ZEDB weekends from midday or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
Popular Podcasts
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com