All Blacks vice-captain and former Kobe Steelers star Ardie Savea remains confident that his side can turn around their below-par Rugby Championship campaign as they prepare to face the Wallabies on Saturday in the first day-time Bledisloe Test in Sydney since 1995.
The wounded All Blacks arrived in Australia this week having suffered three defeats in their four Rugby Championship games.
After a shock opening loss in Wellington to Argentina, Scott Robertson’s side routed Los Pumas in Auckland before narrow defeats to South Africa in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Savea, 30, who will be playing in Super Rugby for Moana Pasifika next season alongside his older brother Julian Savea, spoke to the media at a press conference in Sydney on Thursday morning.
“It’s exciting, there’s obviously a lot of rich history between the two teams,” said Savea.
The 2023 World Player of The Year, who starred for Dave Rennie’s Kobe side last season as he scored eight tries in 15 appearances, added: “It’s a huge task ahead but I’m really, really excited.”
Looking back on their loss to South Africa a fortnight ago, New Zealand’s starting number eight said: “We looked at the game and the opportunities we’re creating but we’re just not finishing them, it’s about us players seeing things in those moments and making the right calls.
“This week we’ve took those lessons on board, and what Australia brings but we’re just trying to find our game and worry about ourselves.”
Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies also have one win from their four Rugby Championship outings and were embarrassed by Argentina in Santa Fe as the hosts turned around a 17-point deficit to hand the ailing visitors a record-breaking 67-27 Test defeat.
Savea is focused only on New Zealand’s need to rediscover their winning touch but still has a positive outlook as they look forward to two Tests against Australia.
“Everyone’s different in how they deal with this, I’m the optimistic type. What a great challenge this is for us to be able to show New Zealand that you can take a couple of steps backwards and still propel yourselves ahead.
“Sometimes you get knocked down but it’s how you pick yourselves up. We want to show the country we can bounce back and get our feet on the ground again.”
Savea underlined how the All Blacks camp has been keen to reinforce the importance and history of the Bledisloe Cup this week and particularly to the younger members of the squad.
“When you first come in you have to understand the history of the Bledisloe. When New Zealand lost it many years ago, we wanted to understand that feeling from those players and not be part of a team that hands it over. It creates a feeling in your gut that you don’t want to be part of losing team and that’s how we’ve passed that message on to the new boys."
The former Hurricanes loose forward said there’s been a different feeling in the camp in Sydney as they bid to record their second win in the thirteenth edition of the four-team competition.
“In terms of preparation it’s not been the same (as previous weeks), there’s been an edge, there’s been a lot of energy. We’re trying to release the shackles and just play. When you see great All Blacks teams play it looks like it's just flowing, we’re trying to create that space and energy on and off the field.”
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