Savea picks the Blues for his “last dance”

Ardie Savea will play in Auckland. The 32-year-old back-rower confirmed his move to the Blues on Friday 2 October, after weeks of speculation.

Savea kept fans waiting for around 40 minutes on a YouTube livestream before posting the news on Instagram. He described it as his last Super Rugby club in New Zealand. “I’ve signed with the Blues for 2027. The reason I called it the last dance is because it’s going to be my last Super Rugby team that I play for in New Zealand,” he said.

According to the New Zealand Herald, reported by Planet Rugby, it is a one-year deal. The Savea family wanted to stay in Auckland, where Moana Pasifika were based before the franchise folded this year.

Eleven seasons at the Hurricanes, one at Moana

Savea spent most of his career with the Hurricanes, playing 131 Super Rugby matches and scoring 32 tries. After a spell in Japan with the Kobe Steelers, he returned to Super Rugby with Moana Pasifika: 12 matches, seven tries and the competition’s Player of the Year award. He then won Japan Rugby League One with Kobe under Dave Rennie, now the All Blacks head coach.

He joins the Blues while recovering from a dislocated shoulder suffered against South Africa on 5 September, for which New Zealand Rugby announced surgery. The Blues, who are changing coach with Jason Holland replacing Vern Cotter, are also losing two back-rowers: Dalton Papali’i, who has joined Castres, and Hoskins Sotutu, who is off to Newcastle.

The Hurricanes strengthen too

The defending champions also recruited on the same day. Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa, a 22-year-old number 8 who came through at Moana Pasifika and made his All Blacks debut on the tour of South Africa, has signed for two seasons. Scrum-half Bryn Hall, a six-time Super Rugby champion with the Crusaders between 2017 and 2022, has signed for one year after four seasons in Japan.

The 2027 season kicks off on Saturday 13 February in Auckland with Blues v Hurricanes.