Julian Savea

[cyRil]

Is it just me or has this guy completely lost it since the u20s World Cup last year? Anyone know why he hasn't kicked on?

 

[Sam Owen]

Im just watching the Wellington vs Hawkes Bay game and he's not doing too great at the moment. Still theres another half to go.

It's still early in the young mans career. I do admit though he came on the scene pretty well and looked very promising but now it's going downhill for him as far as his form goes.

Maybe it's a confidence thing or just very limited oppertunities....

 

[TRF_Cymro]

What I have seen in recent ITM games, I don't think he has been given enough opportunity with the ball / comes looking for the ball enough.

Boy has pace and talent, maybe he needs to move away from Wellington.

 

[Darwin]

Is it just me or has this guy completely lost it since the u20s World Cup last year? Anyone know why he hasn't kicked on?

He dominated at the Under 20's because he is big, strong, elusive, and very fast. Unfortunately he has poor ball handling skills, a complete inability to catch the high ball, and the defence skills of Quade Cooper. He was badly exposed at times during last years ITM Cup, so it was no surprise that he struggled at Super Rugby level. He still looks good with the ball in hand at times, but I think he is finding it hard to adjust to the fact that the players he is playing against now are about the same size as him, and are just as fast. He seems to be one of those players who dominated at age-grade level due to his size/speed advantage, but because of this didn't evolve the skill set he needed to be successful at a higher level. I'm certainly not writing him off, as he has the potential to be a great player, but he has a long way to go....

 

[markshaw]

What I have seen in recent ITM games, I don't think he has been given enough opportunity with the ball / comes looking for the ball enough.Boy has pace and talent, maybe he needs to move away from Wellington.

send him up here

 

[ranger]

He hasn't "lost it" he just hasnt had to develop the allround skill set thats required of him now. He still has all the raw attributes and can light up when he gets good ball in space, but ITM Cup is a huge step up from U20 level and hes still a lot of coaching away from being ready.

Kaka and Buckman showed his flaws up tonight. Their positioning on both sides was better, they created space for other places more effectively, their awareness of what was happening around them was sharper and they just worked harder. Those aren't skills you need to work on when youre dominating this hard in highschool

 

[Ma'a Nonu Junior]

it seems to be a common problem with players who dominate age group tournaments then struggle with the step up. Dan Kirkpatrick is a huge example as a former Secondary schools captain. Savea will make it one day but it will require alot of hard work and i agree that all his school career he would of relied on his pace and size which meant he diddnt need other skills

 

[Gavin]

Give him two/three years and he will be a very good provincal player and a regular starter for whatever Super15 team he will play for. Personally I think he has had a shock moving from U20 to the big boys which is why he is struggling.

 

[Aedaphon]

Agreed with the above, Julian Savea clearly has the potential to be a great player. When I saw him in U20s I though he'd hit his stride during S15 but I'm guessing it takes a little longer than just one season. Credit to him though, Hurricanes haven't had too many attacking opportunities to test him. He still has a long way to go, but I'd be pretty surprised, if not shocked, if he didn't cap over the next 10 years.

 

[William18]

Savea was very lucky to get the IRB Junior Player of the Year as he generally just finished off the moves. Not saying he wasn't impressive, I'm just saying that there were players who looked better than him. I think he was excellent in last year's ITM Cup and there were even some who were calling for him to be picked in the All Blacks. The problems with his game have been exposed - every ITM Cup team knows that they just have to kick the ball to him and there is a good chance the he will drop it. I think he just needs to score one great try which will boost his confidence and he will kick on from there.

 

[WhoDaresWin]

What he needs is to re-join Titch @ the 7s game to rebuild his confidence and then join the Lions for next seasons ITM cup.

 

[Dizzy]

yeah it seems those who go to titch end up being All Blacks... Re: Jonah, Cullen of the older era, Jane, Vito of a more recent era.

It seems if you want to be an All Black and make it to ITM Cup level, try a go at sevens with Gordon Titjens