On Wednesday, rumours began circulating that All Blacks star player Ardie Savea has threatened to walk out on his country due to dissatisfaction with the current national coaching set-up. It is claimed in the New Zealand Herald that Savea could join either Leinster in Ireland or a club in Japan as he explores a future away from New Zealand Rugby. These claims have also been backed up on Martin Devlin’s podcast, who says Savea - along with other senior All Blacks - have communicated their stance to the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) board.
But could this really happen? In this article we will break down Savea’s current contractual situation and what it would take for him to walk out on the All Blacks ahead of the Rugby World Cup in 2027.
Why Is Savea Threatening To Leave
Savea is one of a number of senior All Blacks said to be deeply unhappy with the current All Blacks coaching team, lead by former Crusaders boss Scott Robertson. The team may still be ranked 2nd in the world, but performances and results have drawn fierce criticism in New Zealand.
(please embed video https://youtu.be/jw9C2Zn-anM?si=fNmU0fjoGS2C4BOu)
It appears that the focal point of the players’ anger is assistant coach Scott Hansen. Rumours about disruption cause by Hansen have been circulating for some time, with Isreal Dagg saying in October that Hansen could have been the reason behind fellow assistant coaches Jason Holland and Leon McDonald leaving their roles. Hansen is also described as being ‘offside’ with the players.
Ardie Savea is currently the All Blacks’ star player, has captained the side regularly and has shown in the past that he is not afraid to be outspoken. It therefore seems very likely that any senior player action within the dressing room would have him at the heart of it.
What Is Savea’s Current Contract
Ardie Savea is currently contracted with the NZRU to play at Super Rugby side Moana Pasifika until 2027 - the year of the World Cup. If he were to decline a contract extension beyond that, he would still be eligible to play for the All Blacks at that World Cup.
The player is currently in Japan, playing for Kobe Steelers on a sabbatical. It is Savea’s 2nd sabbatical in 3 seasons having also played for Kobe last season along with Brodie Retallick and Warren Gatland’s son Bryn. So far, he only has one season playing for his official New Zealand team - Moana Pasifika.
Savea was in sensational form for Moana Pasifika last season, winning Super Rugby player of the season and leading the lowly ranked side to a surprise play-off challenge. He said that playing for Moana was a way of honouring his Samoan heritage, having previously hinted he would like to switch allegiances to Samoa at some point in the future.
According to rumours, the reason he signed for Moana was his old side (the Hurricanes) had refused to give his brother (Julian) a contract extension, although this is unconfirmed speculation. It is also reported that NZRU had actively tried to discourage him from signing for Moana, including the threat of financial penalties - which he ignored. Ardie Savea became the top try-scoring forward in All Blacks history last year.
Can Savea Leave His Contract Early?
So we know Ardie Savea is displeased with the NZRU, both for the nature of his move from Hurricanes to Moana Pasifika and for the current All Blacks management. We also know that he feels a draw towards his Samoan roots. However, the problem remains that he is contracted to play in New Zealand for 2 more years.
There are a number of ways Savea could leave his NZRU contract before the next World Cup:
He can activate a break clause - if a break clause is in his contract. It is unlikely there is a performance base break clause in his Moana contract as the team have mostly struggled in Super Rugby since their inception, and there is no expectation for them to challenge for the title. It is also highly doubtful that the All Blacks’ performance is in any way included in a break clause.
The club he wants to sign for can buy him out of his contract. The mega-rich clubs in Japan would surely be able to afford what would presumably be a huge fee, as might Leinster or Toulouse in Europe. However, It seems unlikely that any club would be willing to make such a huge outlay without securing Savea’s services for an extended contract - certainly longer than the one-off seasons he has played for Kobe so far. Under the All Blacks current selection policy, this would prevent Savea from making a comeback if and when the coaching team is changed.
He can refuse to play. As occasionally happens in football - such as Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester United - Savea can make the situation so uncomfortable for the NZRU that they choose to release him from his contract. This would likely involve refusing to play and publicly criticising the organisation, damaging it’s reputation in the process.
Any of the above options would require Savea to risk both reputation damage of his own and a willingness to sacrifice his international career permanently - he could not switch to Samoa until 2028 at the earliest, (realistically, it would be the July tests of 2029) by which time he will be 35. If multiple other senior All Blacks were to do the same, it is possible they could force NZRU to change their selection criteria and allow overseas players to play for the All Blacks, which is something many in New Zealand are already pushing for. However, it is seems unlikely the union’s devotion to assistant coach Scott Hansen is such that they would tear up their regulations just to keep him.
Conclusions
In this article we have established that it is very likely true that Ardie Savea is unhappy with the NZRU and that if senior All Blacks have made a threat to walk out then he would likely be one of those players. However, we have also shown that he is under contract in New Zealand and that for his contract to be broken, the following actions would need to be taking:
Savea would have to be willing to sacrifice his international rugby career permanently.
A club in either Japan or Europe would have to be willing and able to buy him out of his contract and pay one of the world’s most high profile players for multiple seasons.
NZRU would have to a) remain steadfast in their desire to keep the All Blacks coaching ticket as it currently is and b) be willing to let one (or quite possibly more) of their star players leave mid-contract.
It is also worth noting 2 things: first that the NZRU has already suffered reputation damage through this story being released and the coaches’ positions are have already been made untenable. Secondly, it is reported by the Irish press that Leinster are not exploring a deal to sign Savea. These factors combined with the points above make it unlikely that Savea’s exit will come to fruition.