Julian Savea

Julian Savea (born 7 August 1990) is a New Zealand Rugby Union Player who currently plays for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, New Zealand internationally, and the Wellington Lions in the ITM Cup. He has also represented New Zealand at sevens and at under-20 level. He plays on the wing.

Early career

Savea went to Rongotai College in Wellington, New Zealand. In 2008, Savea made the New Zealand secondary schools team and the Hurricanes academy squad.<ref name=stuff-403778">"Rongotai star raring to go". Dominion Post. Fairfax. 5 May 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2011. </ref> In 2009, Savea debuted for the New Zealand sevens at the 2009 Adelaide Sevens. In 2010, Savea was selected for the New Zealand U-20 team to play at the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina.<ref name=stuff-3633522">"Ngatai, Savea headline NZ U-20 team". Rugby Heaven. Fairfax. NZPA. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2011. </ref> He scored 8 tries in the tournament which New Zealand won and was named IRB Junior Player of the year.^[1] Savea was rewarded for his good form by being picked in the 2010 Wellington Lions squad to play in the 2010 ITM Cup.<ref name=stuff-3938401">Millmow, Jonathan (21 July 2010). "So'oialo the captain but who'll be coach?". Dominion Post. Fairfax. Retrieved 8 October 2011. </ref> In 2010 Savea was touted as 'the next Jonah Lomu'.^[2]

Domestic Career

Hurricanes

In 2012, Savea is playing in just his second season for the Hurricanes. While he had a quiet 2011 season, his recent form and growing confidence, particularly illustrated in games against the Cheetahs and his barnstorming winning try against the Highlanders has deservedly earned him a callup by All Blacks coach Steve Hansen into the All Blacks for the three test series with Ireland. Critics have recently compared Savea favourably with Jonah Lomu, particularly with regard to his ability to break the tackle and his speed on the field.

Wellington Lions

He marked his first-class debut in July 2010 with a length of the field runaway try that clinched an ITM Cup pre-season win for the Wellington Lions over Canterbury. He started on the right wing in 12 of 14 ITM Cup games, scoring a further eight tries including a try on championship debut against Tasman and two more the following week against Otago.^{[citation needed]}

International career

All Blacks

On 9 June 2012, Savea scored three tries on debut for the All Blacks against Ireland in the first test at Eden Park.^[3][4] He is the first All Black to score three tries against Ireland in a test match,^{[citation needed]} and just the fourth to score three tries on his All Black test debut.^[4]

International Tries

Try	Opposing team	Location	Venue	Competition	Date	Result
1	Ireland	Auckland, New Zealand	Eden Park	Mid-year rugby test series	02012-06-099 June 2012	Won
2	Ireland	Auckland, New Zealand	Eden Park	Mid-year rugby test series	02012-06-099 June 2012	Won
3	Ireland	Auckland, New Zealand	Eden Park	Mid-year rugby test series	02012-06-099 June 2012	Won
4	Argentina	Wellington, New Zealand	Westpac Stadium	Rugby Championship	02012-09-088 September 2012	Won
5	Argentina	La Plata, Argentina	Estadio Ciudad de La Plata	Rugby Championship	02012-09-2929 September 2012	Won
6	Argentina	La Plata, Argentina	Estadio Ciudad de La Plata	Rugby Championship	02012-09-2929 September 2012	Won
7	Scotland	Edinburgh, Scotland	Murrayfield Stadium	End-of-year rugby test series	02012-11-1111 November 2012	Won
8	Scotland	Edinburgh, Scotland	Murrayfield Stadium	End-of-year rugby test series	02012-11-1111 November 2012	Won
9	Italy	Rome, Italy	Stadio Olimpico	End-of-year rugby test series	02012-11-1717 November 2012	Won
10	Italy	Rome, Italy	Stadio Olimpico	End-of-year rugby test series	02012-11-1717 November 2012	Won
11	England	London, England	Twickenham Stadium	End-of-year rugby test series	02012-12-011 December 2012	Lost
12	England	London, England	Twickenham Stadium	End-of-year rugby test series	02012-12-011 December 2012	Lost
13	France	Addington, New Zealand	AMI Stadium	Mid-year rugby test series	02013-06-1515 June 2013	Won
14	Argentina	Hamilton, New Zealand	Waikato Stadium	Rugby Championship	02013-09-077 September 2013	Won
15	Argentina	La Plata, Argentina	Estadio Ciudad de La Plata	Rugby Championship	02013-09-2929 September 2013	Won
16	Australia	Dunedin, New Zealand	Forsyth Barr Stadium	End-of-year rugby test series	02013-10-1919 October 2013	Won
17	England	London, England	Twickenham Stadium	End-of-year rugby test series	02013-11-1616 November 2013	Won
18	England	London, England	Twickenham Stadium	End-of-year rugby test series	02013-11-1616 November 2013	Won
19	Ireland	Dublin, Ireland	Aviva Stadium	End-of-year rugby test series	02013-11-2424 November 2013	Won

New Zealand U20

Julian Savea was named the 2010 IRB Junior Player of the Year. Savea was the star of the IRB World U20 tournament, scoring eight memorable tries in three games, He scored four tries in one match against Samoa and two each against Wales and South Africa. Savea featured on the right wing for New Zealand in the 2010 World U20 tournament.

New Zealand Sevens

Savea debuted for the New Zealand Sevens team at the 2009 Dubai Sevens and went on to play in the Sevens tournaments at Hong Kong, Adelaide, London and Scotland.

Personal life

Savea is of Samoan descent.^[5] His younger brother Ardie is also a Hurricanes player.^[6]

Arrest

In April 2013 Savea was arrested and charged over a domestic violence incident involving his partner.^[7] Savea had previously appeared on posters for an anti-domestic violence campaign, 'It's Not OK'. ^[8]

References

External links

• Julian Savea at AllBlacks.com
• All Blacks sevens profile
• Hurricanes profile
• Wellington profile
• itsrugby.co.uk profile