Julian Savea joins Wellington for Mitre 10 Cup campaign
Julian Savea (RCT) during the rugby TOP 14 match between Rugby Club Toulon and CA Brive at the Felix Mayol Stadium, in Toulon, France on February 15, 2020. Photo by Julien Poupart/ABACAPRESS.COM
The Wellington Lions have confirmed that former All Blacks wing Julian Savea will return to the side for their 2020 Mitre 10 Cup campaign.
The 30-year-old has been playing for French club Toulon since 2018 but made the move back to New Zealand with his family in May.
Since his return, Savea has played one game of club rugby for Oriental-Rongotai and was contracted as injury cover for the Hurricanes during the last two weeks of Super Rugby.
However, he said he is elated about getting back into the Lions jersey full-time.
“Really excited to announce I’m coming back home to where it all began,” Savea told the Wellington Lions’ official website. “To be able to put this jersey on means the world to me and to be back home with the brothers, representing Wellington is an honour and a privilege.”
It’s been a while since Savea pulled on the black and yellow strip for the first time – his debut dating back to August 2010.
🗣️ "I’ve had some good conversations with Steelers head coach Tai Lavea and I’m really excited about the squad he’s been able to assemble."
🇳🇿 Kieran Read joins Counties Manukau for Mitre 10 Cup campaign. 👇https://t.co/81wlDe1Bua
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 24, 2020
That was the start of an illustrious career, which saw the winger score 15 tries over 32 starts for the side.
In 2015, Savea became an international superstar after playing a crucial role in the All Blacks team which won the Rugby World Cup in England.
Two years later, he captained the Lions to a Championship win against Bay of Plenty, resulting in the promotion of Wellington back into the Premiership division.
2019 Lions captain Du’Plessis Kirifi said Savea brings a wealth of experience to a young team.
“The boys are stoked to have Jules back this year,” he revealed. “He’s an amazing player who’s achieved nearly everything there is to achieve in the game. You’ve got boys coming out of high school and club rugby who are playing Mitre 10 Cup for the first time – so to have someone of this calibre floating around presents awesome opportunity to learn.”
The full Wellington Lions squad for the 2020 season will be released on Friday, 28 August.