Ardie Savea has revealed he has received some "pretty special" messages from icons of the game ahead of his debut test as All Blacks captain.
Savea will lead the side out at Perth's Optus Stadium on Sunday for the third Bledisloe Cup test against the Wallabies, becoming the third playerto captain the side this year.
Ahead of his 53rd test in the black jersey, Savea said he had appreciated the messages of support he had received, particularly from players he once looked up to.
"A few people that I really, really looked up to coming through my rugby journey – the likes of Ma'a Nonu – messaged me. Even though we're good mates, he was always a hero to me; Sonny Bill [Williams], Keven Mealamu – just a few Pacific Island brothers that I really looked up to and tried to follow in the footsteps of," Savea said.
"I'm just grateful for them paving the way for us and getting a message of support and wishing us good luck as a team, it hit home. That was pretty special."
A proud pasifika man captaining the All Blacks! Lesssssgo❤️ Would’ve loved to follow you into battle my uso! @tanaumaga , Jerry Collins, Kevin Mealamu some special names to be alongside ❤️ You make our community proud @ardiesavea ✊🏽❤️ pic.twitter.com/Nd5Xb4afa4
The 27-year-old will be busy with his new duties this weekend if recent performances are anything to go by, with the All Blacks' penalty count being a concerning feature of their game in recent times.
In five tests this year, the All Blacks have given away 10 or more penalties on four occasions, though showed improvement in that area last time out against Australia when they halved their penalty count from the game before.
Ardie Savea will captain the All Blacks against the Wallabies on Sunday. Photo / Photosport
On average, the All Blacks have conceded 13 penalties per test in 2021. With some heated comments in the build-up to this weekend's test due to New Zealand Rugby's decision to delay sending the All Blacks to Perth due to the uncertainty of the Rugby Championship at the time, many expect there to be that little bit more feeling between the sides on Sunday.
"I think there will be a few surprises," Savea said when asked if the team expected a bit more niggle than usual in Sunday's game, "but we're prepared for anything in this test. We know the Aussies will come out firing. They're a team that never gives up. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are in the game, they'll keep coming and we know for a fact this week will be the same. We just have to try nullify that; if it does happen, acknowledge it and try to move forward. That's just part of us preparing well.
"It's all part of the game. For us, we've been penalised a few times across the last couple of matches and for us that's probably not good enough. If we can try to limit teams from getting penalties, that will help us go a long way in terms of trying to win the test match. That's been a focus and hopefully it won't be as much come tomorrow."
