All Blacks star Ardie Savea rues lacks of ‘answers’ after ‘mental’ Super Rugby clash
Moana Pasifika back-row Ardie Savea.
Although Moana Pasifika have lost their first three Super Rugby Pacific matches in 2025, All Blacks star Ardie Savea does not regret joining his new club.
Savea returned to the tournament this year for Moana Pasifika after featuring for Kobelco Kobe Steelers in the Japan Rugby League One on a short-term sabbatical, following the conclusion of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
Prior to that, Savea represented the Hurricanes for a decade between 2013 and 2023 and his move to Moana was a surprising one as the Pacific Islanders finished at the bottom of the 12-team Super Rugby Pacific competition in 2022 and 2023 before doing marginally better in 2024 when they were 11th.
Moana suffered narrow losses to the Western Force and Highlanders in Rounds One and Three but conceded more than 50 points in their Round Two defeat against the Reds and Savea highlighted that winning matches is important in the competition.
Highlights the importance of winning
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to win games,” Savea told Newstalk ZB after Moana’s 31-29 loss to the Highlanders on Friday. “As much as there were great moments for our team, we still lost.
“For this team, we want to win games, we’ve got to find ways to do that. We don’t help ourselves, we’ve got to be better.
“But there were moments there that the boys fronted up and nailed the next task. We were down by 21, and we got back in the game.
“Those are the moments where the boys showed ticker. We’ve got to stop putting ourselves in those positions.
“Whether that’s the mental game, whether that’s nailing our next moment, we’ve got to find answers, quickly. That’s something we’ve got to improve on.”
Despite emphasising the importance of winning matches, Savea has said him joining Moana from the Hurricanes was not just about the results as connecting with his Samoan heritage is also something which he values greatly and he spoke passionately about how it’s embraced at his new club.
‘That’s been really beautiful, for me’
“We celebrate culture every day, every second in this team,” he said. “That’s been really beautiful, for me, being New Zealand born, to be alongside Pasifika and Pacific brothers.
“I’ve been learning a lot of things this week too, about Tonga and Samoa and being around the brothers.
“Someone asked me if I miss the Hurricanes, I said ‘what would I miss [when] I’m here with my people?‘
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do on the rugby front. We’re 0-3, that’s not something I’m proud of.
“I want to be better, this team wants to be better. That’s where we need to be.”
