Maybe it’s just that when everything else isn’t going so well, the contrast is more noticeable between Savea and his teammates. If there’s one man in the All Blacks squad who never seems to be outplayed, it’s Savea, who shows relentless determination under pressure.

From the start against the Springboks, he was in his job.

In the game’s second defensive set from off the line, Akira Ioane backed Siya Kolisi, pulling the Springboks captain away from his backing. Patient Savea lined up the ruck and pounced for his first turnover of the match.

The steal created by the loose pair of attackers was spoiled moments later when the All Blacks botched their response. As usual with the All Blacks’ counterattacking policy, the ball was quickly moved to the edge and ended with a try from Damian de Allende after an abandoned pass.

Risky play in the wrong zone? Maybe, but you can’t have both. When politics lead 60-70 yards from All Black Trials, no one complains.

The All Blacks need fetchers like Savea to deliver key steals in the biggest games against the best opponents if they are ever to play their best counterattack rugby against top competition.

He allowed that first chance in the opening five minutes against the Springboks.

After Willie le Roux gave a kick-off, Savea found himself in possession of the ball. It was his unloading early in this transition game that allowed the All Blacks to stick to that same policy – finding the edge after the opposition’s mistakes.

Within seconds, Beauden Barrett’s cross shot hit Sevu Reece in the chest on the right edge and the winger scored in the corner, all without a phase being counted after Le Roux’s fall. The Springboks backfield wasn’t staged on time – because the All Blacks didn’t give them the chance.

Looking for opportunities to poach the ball, Savea was ubiquitous around the blackout. The threat posed by Savea was a constant cause for concern, leading to desperate cleanups that brought down the Springboks as they rushed towards the ruck.

Savea was hunting throughout the first half and, as a result, didn’t have a chance to try to blunt the Springboks’ transport play as much as he would elsewhere in the back row.

On the rare occasions when he found himself in the trenches in the first half, he has been a disruptive force.

Stopping Ox Nche in his tracks, holding him upright and then backing him up, the Springboks mainstay has lost his support cleaners and hooker Bongi Mbonambi is forced to pull Savea de Nche by the neck, to the side, even before that the tackle is not over. .

Some days the call will come and some won’t, but like in life, what matters most is how you react to the situation afterward. Overall, the Springboks have found better answers in the game.

However, what needs to be remembered is the undeniable impact of Savea and what he does in defense for his team. His constant melee presence creates potentially sanctionable offenses, with the opposition desperate to get rid of him. If he does it enough, they will pay the price one way or another.

His power, strength, and leg training even made the Springboks pack very overlooked at times with their work around the breakdown, which any good pickup does.

Savea’s explosive set-piece try was shaped at first by the eventual try-scorer, running a good open line from the tail of the roster to keep Kolisi contained and prevent the Springboks captain from consolidating the Pollard canal.

The Springboks opening half was done by Barrett on the inside and Savea, like any good openside, was there at the end to take the final pass and break Eben Etzebeth’s final tackle.

Positioning Savea off the ball to gain space was of crucial importance in giving Barrett space to do his magic.

When Luke Jacobson was replaced half an hour from the end, Savea’s role changed as he took over at No.8.

He found himself making more tackles right in the middle of the Springboks onslaught in the third quarter, where they enjoyed vast territorial and possession advantages.

His strength was such that he was able to hold prop Steven Kitshoff and put him on his back just a few feet from the try line, forcing Kolisi to miss his first clean-up, then come to the side to roll Blackadder out of the ball. the second attempt.

As the All Blacks hung on, dropping five points to 25-20 with twenty minutes remaining, their captain created another decisive moment, winning a penalty against isolated Franco Mostert with the Springboks five yards from the line. .

The release of pressure from Savea’s second turnover was immense at the time, after nearly fifteen minutes of play stuck in their own half with the All Blacks unable to stop the momentum as the Springboks had scored. several times.

And again down 25-23 with ten minutes left, Savea’s strength in combination with Blackadder held Mostert back and forced a collapsed maul.

From the scrum that followed, he broke the blind spot to release a two-on-one and was the man there to attack De Allende on the Springboks’ five after Sevu Reece’s kick.

When her scrum was under pressure, Savea knew when to break quickly to avoid a costly pass penalty. There are always yards for Savea to move back when opposing flankers put on the thrust, like his extraordinary acceleration.

And with 10 seconds remaining as the All Blacks tried to slow down the clock and secure a win, Savea and Ioane got into place to secure Patrick Tuipulotu’s postponement.

An excellent chop tackle from Jasper Wiese forced the All Blacks to lock onto Savea’s path, and he couldn’t get a decent entry into the ruck with Wiese obstructing the path on the ground.

It was a tactic the Springboks used throughout the game to foil the All Blacks ruck, helping their own catchers pass the ball. Not walking away went unpunished by the ref, so they continued to do so, as any party would in this situation.

This sloppy play doesn’t erase the quality of the All Blacks captain’s gigantic performance. His fifty minutes in the open was excellent, as were his last thirty behind the fray.

He was present again at the stage break before the All Blacks were penalized in front of the posts, valiantly trying to save his team from another dire situation and pull another turnover out of the hat.

His post-game comments as captain of the All Blacks were equally impressive and exactly what you would want to hear in the losing situation: nothing less than the deep disappointment that he missed six-on-six when he had already won the Rugby Championship. Overall, the performance against the Springboks was not good enough and, in particular, the third quarter of the game was a major issue.

As a captain, Savea is a fast learner and the difference between this week and last week was day and night, keeping the lines of communication open with officials and receiving messages from them. In Townsville, there was almost no dialogue.

The decision-making part of the harbor master’s office is where Savea uses his resources around him to make decisions. And that’s a great quality to have, with all the experience the All Blacks have at their disposal, it would be remiss not to use it.

They rolled the dice after a few penalties, declining three at 20-25 for a shot on a five-yard line. But after that failure, they decided to cut corners, opting for points late in the game when the pressure from the Springboks was heavy, admitting their throws were not working.

He leads by example and doesn’t falter in the face of pressure, often doing his best when the All Blacks need it most.

This made some of his best work not rewarded with the end result which is unfortunate, but shows they have the right person on the pitch. Even with Sam Cane’s return, Savea just has to be there.

When the All Blacks are in desperate need of someone to step in, you can be sure Ardie Savea will be there.