SYDNEY :Ardie Savea was named the winner of the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year award with two rounds of the competition to spare on Monday after his extraordinary performance for Moana Pasifika at the weekend.
The All Blacks loose forward was a powerhouse on both sides of the ball as Moana beat the Auckland Blues for the first time on Saturday to move into the top six in the standings, good enough for a playoff spot.
Savea appropriately brought an end to what one TV commentator described as the best individual performance in 30 years of Super Rugby with a turnover under his own posts to seal the 27-21 victory.
“It just astounds me, sometimes I don’t know if anyone can get any better, but he keeps doing it,” Moana coach Tana Umaga told reporters at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium.
“It’s just amazing what he puts himself through, how he prepares and how much it means to him. To learn the skills of someone who’s playing the best rugby that anyone’s ever seen … is the best way for our boys to learn.”
Savea moved to Moana at the end of last year on a mission to help develop a team which was set up to advance the careers of players from the Pacific islands and Pasifika diaspora but had struggled in its first three seasons.
“I don’t know if you guys have been in that position when you wholeheartedly believe in something, you’ve given your all, that’s me right now,” Savea, who won the World Player of the Year award in 2023, said on Saturday.
“For me, it’s more than a game and when it’s more than a game to me, I’ll run through brick walls for them. Every week, that’s my mindset for this team.”
Vern Cotter, who led the Blues to a fourth Super Rugby title last season, said he had never seen Savea play as well.
“He was on fire, wasn’t he?” said the former Scotland and Fiji coach. “He inspires them. He’s inspirational just with his actions.”
Savea received maximum points for his performance from his peers and coaches to take an unassailable 11-point lead in Player of the Year standings over Tom Hooper of the ACT Brumbies.
“Ardie’s passionate leadership and dominant performances for Moana Pasifika this year have made an indelible mark on his teammates, his opponents and our competition as a whole,” Jack Mesley, chief executive of Super Rugby Pacific, said in a press release.
“He has received votes from the opposition in almost every game he has played this season, which reflects the consistency of his output and influence on his team.”
