Rugby: All Blacks coach Ian Foster reveals how Ardie Savea earned All Blacks captaincy

Ardie Savea will captain the All Blacks for the first time. Photo / Photosport

With their three recent captains unavailable for their upcoming tests, the All Blacks have revealed a new captaincy team for the Rugby Championship, with head coach Ian Foster detailing why he made his varied choices.

Ardie Savea's ability on the rugby field speaks for itself, but All Blacks coach Ian Foster has revealed the star loose forward's emotional side was a big factor in giving him the captaincy.

Savea was named to captain the All Blacks in next weekend's third Bledisloe Cup test in Perth, with Brodie Retallick and Beauden Barrett named as vice captains

With incumbent captain Sam Cane still injured, and recent stand-ins Sam Whitelock and Aaron Smith among those left in New Zealand with expectant partners when the rest of the team flew out for Australia, Foster had a number of strong options in the squad, but ultimately decided on Savea.

Ardie Savea will captain the All Blacks for the first time. Photo / Photosport

The All Blacks are set to be away from New Zealand for about three months as they are expected to embark on their end of year tour to the Northern Hemisphere after their Rugby Championship campaign, with no MIQ spots available until late November.

"In some ways it's a changing time and we've gone with a changing strategy," Foster told Newstalk ZB's Elliott Smith.

"Ardie has been a key part of our leadership group and I love that he has a very different style of leadership; he's very empathetic, he's got a great affinity right across the group and reads the group well from a family and emotional side, and I think that's a really important quality to have in the situation we're in.

"We've gone with formally naming two vice-captains with Beauden and Brodie, and they're going to bring different qualities as well in terms of the calm, calculated thinker and the guy who likes to get out there and mix it.

"I really like the combination in those three in terms of their leadership for where our team is at, and with the uncertainty of when Sam will come back over with quarantining and everything like that, we've decided to go with a slightly different structure in the meantime for this Rugby Championship, and we're really confident with it."

Foster has seen Savea's growth within the All Blacks environment from his first day in camp in 2016, having been a member of the coaching staff for the entirety of Savea's All Blacks career.

He said in recent years, Savea had developed from the strong and silent type to one of the group's key, and vocal, leaders.

"Over the last few years he's really started to grow into an influence role in terms of looking at ways we can actually use his voice and his behaviour to impact this team, and I think he's done a really good job of it," Foster said.

"Secondly, we're really starting to see his form at the level we know he can play at. He's a growing man in the environment and I'm delighted; I think he's got a great feel for the team and it will be a great learning curve for him too."

The All Blacks will take on Australia next week in Perth, before travelling to Queensland for the remainder of the Rugby Championship.