Ardie Savea is still undecided about his future. Photo / Getty
Ardie Savea is back, but whether he stays in New Zealand beyond this year remains uncertain.
After a disruptive season in which the same MCL knee injury sidelined Savea for three months all told – in two separate stints – the world-class loose forward returns to play his 50th test for the All Blacks against Fiji in Hamilton on Saturday with a rare start in the No 7 jersey.
That milestone comes at a critical juncture in the 27-year-old's career as he weighs whether to re-sign with New Zealand Rugby and the Hurricanes or seek a plethora of offshore suitors.
NZ Rugby is believed to be confident of retaining Savea's services, with insiders suggesting he could soon finalise an extension.
While Savea's preference is to stay, a deal is yet to be reached.
Savea could near name his price aboard and he is in the unique position of leading his contract negotiations without the use of an agent, while charting his own path with his budding Uncommon Athlete platform that seeks to push the boundaries on many fronts.
For now, all options are on the table.
Savea's Hurricanes teammate Ngani Laumape recently opted to sign a three-year deal with Paris-based Stade Francais after being underwhelmed by NZ Rugby's offer. This time, the national body will surely prise open the war chest to retain Savea.
"I'm still at that crossroads of deciding whether to stay or not," Savea tells the Herald ahead of his comeback. "I'm still thinking on it.
"There's been talks here and there but my main focus has been on my knee and getting back on the field and then being able to negotiate. You're not in a good position to negotiate when you're out injured.
"For me it's about being able to play and then start the process. Hopefully we'll get things rolling after this week then we've got a week and bit off so start the talking process and getting everything sorted and what the options are.
"Ideally I'd love to stick around in New Zealand. My wife, my parents, my mother-in-law are in Wellington. My kids are in school. New Zealand is home, so if we are able to get the deal that we're happy with then New Zealand would be a great place, but we still need to talk about it. Hopefully things come to fruition but we've just got to wait."
Despite approaching the half-century mark Savea will make his 11th start at openside for the All Blacks this weekend. Such is his versatility, and the presence of Sam Cane since his test debut in 2016, Savea has also made six starts at blindside and nine at No 8.
For the Hurricanes he often switches between No 8 and openside too. While clearly capable of filling all three loose forward roles, in an ideal world Savea would settle in one position.
"We've got such quality loose forwards in New Zealand. I don't mind where I play as long as it's consistently in that same spot. I personally wouldn't want to chop and change. I'd like to be set in stone in one position - I don't mind what that is – and hopefully stay there and work at my craft and try and be myself in that spot.
"Being able to consistently fight for one spot would be good."
Regaining Savea's presence - in another rejigged loose trio featuring Akira Ioane and Luke Jacobson - is timely for the All Blacks after their struggles against Fiji at the breakdown in Dunedin last week.
"They're special athletes, they're big boys and they came firing. It's good for us because we're a physical team too and we want to go out there and stamp our mark."
Brother Julian and their mother and father will be among the crowd in Hamilton to witness Savea's 50th test.
Senior midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown, who debuted three tests after Savea, returns from minor elbow surgery to bring up the same milestone match on his home patch.
"As a kid you dream of playing one game so to play 50 leaves you lost for words," Savea said. "It sprung up on me last year but to do able to do it for this jersey and represent my family is very special.
"It's been a weird season getting injured for eight weeks, coming back and then knocking the knee again. It's been frustrating. It's been a battle within myself trying to force things but I'm slowly learning, like life, that it's out of my control. Once my mindset shifted I started to relax and try come back without any pressure.
"It's been nice to come back when the knee feels good. I look back at those eight weeks I had off and there was a purpose around why I was injured.
"For me it's stripped a lot of things back. You can get caught up in the hype but to be able to play footy in this jersey is pretty special."
NZ Rugby will hope there's 50 more tests to come from Savea in that black jersey.