Ardie Savea can write another paragraph on his Hall of Fame rugby plaque this weekend. And the question is: what will that plaque read like when it’s all said and done?
The FloRugby No. 1-ranked player in the world leads the Kobe Steelers into the Japan Rugby League One Final on Sunday morning in the United States. He joined the Steelers on a one-year sabbatical from Moana Pasifika of Super Rugby. That move back to the Pacific is complicated these days, but what’s not complicated is that Savea, an All Blacks captain, is still very much one of the best players in the sport.
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Savea scored eight tries and 40 points for the Steelers, was seventh in tackles and helped the club get back to the JRLO Final with six straight wins down the stretch. Savea scored in the last win over Springbok rival Cheslin Kolbe’s Sungoliath as his team piled up 69 points in a 46-point victory. Savea scored two of those tries, including the crushing blow just before halftime that made the score 24-16.
Now he faces the Kubota Spears, a team that will not have reigning World Rugby Player of the Year Malcolm Marx (Savea won the award in 2023) available. Savea arriving at the Steelers before this season and taking them from fifth place with a 10-0-8 record to 16-0-2 record and a league title would be quite something for Savea, who last won a club championship in 2016 with the Hurricanes.
The question is, after Sunday, where will Ardie Savea win his next championship?
Ardie Savea Future Whereabouts Captivating Transfer Season
It should be simple. It should be that Savea returns to Moana Pasifika, the club he joined for the 2024-25 season and transformed into a competitive team that nearly made the playoffs in a deep Super Rugby season.
It should be simple. But it’s not.
Pasifika is disbanding and is reportedly $8 million in debt. The club was placed into liquidation last week. New Zealand Rugby players seem committed to the club and want to revive it, but it won’t be in Super Rugby next season.
So what does Savea do?
There’s a feeling that Savea could very well stay with the Steelers and continue his sabbatical.
This is where rugby player contracts can be confusing for those in the United States.
Savea has a contract with New Zealand Rugby. From there, he can sign with any of the New Zealand Rugby clubs in Super Rugby. NZR allows players to take season-long sabbaticals in other leagues, like Jordie Barrett playing a season for Leinster Rugby last year. Savea has done a Japan sabbatical twice since ending his 10-year run with the Hurricanes in 2023.
His contract runs through 2027, meaning he’s eligible to play for the All Blacks in the all-important 2027 Rugby World Cup, which is being hosted in Australia.
Savea has denied that his contract status and relationship with Scott Robertson helped lead to the Super Rugby coaching legend being fired after just two seasons. Honestly, one just had to watch those All Blacks matches under Robertson to know things weren’t going well. Of course, those rumors weren’t helped when Savea’s club coach with the Steelers, Dave Rennie, was hired as the new All Blacks coach.
Was that hire made with the intent of keeping Savea happy and All Blacks eligible? Probably not. Rennie is a former Australia national coach who was once an All Blacks U20 coach.
Where Will Ardie Savea Play Club Rugby Next Year?
That is the million-dollar question in the sport.
The natural spot would be Savea returning to the club he spent a decade with, the Hurricanes. Their coach, Clark Laidlaw, said last month that it would be “too soon” to talk about Savea returning, saying it was insensitive to speculate on Pasifika’s status. But now we know the status.
Another report says the Blues have become Savea’s “preferred” Super Rugby destination.
It seems as though NZR wouldn’t prevent Savea from staying with the Steelers, one of the clubs he is rumored to be considering post-2027. But would it allow him to play in Europe this close to a World Cup?
There are many post-2027 Ardie Savea rumors. None is bigger than the one FloRugby reported on last year, when Racing 92 was rumored to be preparing the most Racing 92 offer ever and make Savea the highest-paid rugby player in the world.
There are also clubs in the Gallagher PREM — maybe one sponsored by an energy drink — that could pursue Savea. And we won’t even think about a world where Savea is wearing Stormers colors and playing in Cape Town, but it doesn’t seem that far-fetched considering what the Stormers are doing.
Or could you imagine him in Leinster blue? Or teaming with Antoine Dupont in France (shivers).
OK, that’s enough.
For Now, It’s About The JRLO Final
For this weekend, though, the only questions are: Can the Steelers cap off one of the most dominant Japan Rugby League One seasons in recent memory? And can Ardie Savea win his first championship in a decade?
The rest are Monday issues.
Watch the Japan Rugby League One Final on FloRugby
The Japan Rugby League One Final kicks off at 2:05 a.m. ET on June 7 at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. The match is streaming on FloRugby.
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