Julian Savea has played like a man amongst boys throughout his career, the winger’s physicality was a generational X-factor and helped him become one of the most lethal finishers the game has seen.
Long before the 54-Test All Black was bumping off players at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, he was bumping off kids a lot older than him in the schoolyard.
Savea’s development was miles ahead of kids his age, to the point where his mother had to carry his birth certificate for any parents who thought her son was cheating.
Savea himself says he carried a passport in case questions arose due to his size.
“I’m not sure exactly how tall I was but I was a big boy,” Savea recalled for the NZR+ Origins series. “I think I played under 13s for like, four years. So I had to carry a passport just because the parents didn’t believe that I was still under 13s.”
Savea says he “was a big boy playing under sevens”, but struggled to enjoy the game because his eye was always on the older kids’ game.
As a youngster of course there is no tackling in the game until you reach a certain age, but Savea hated having to play touch so he took the field with the older kids.
“I remember I kept tackling kids and injuring them because I wanted to play tackle.
“When I was seven I played under 13s until I couldn’t play under 13s anymore.”
46 tries in an All Blacks jersey puts ‘the bus’ just three shy of Doug Howlett’s all-time record and gives Savea one of the most electric strike rates in rugby history.
The desire to dominate the physical side of the game from such a young age will make a whole lot of sense to fans who witnessed Savea at the height of his powers. A certain try against France in the 2015 World Cup has gone down in history as an all-time great finish through contact.
Just Julian Savea going full beast mode 😮
Is this one of the best individual performances at a Rugby World Cup?
Watch the full episode on World Rugby Youtube#ThatGameWhen | #RWC2015 pic.twitter.com/umnRZ700pS
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) July 6, 2023
Savea’s eight tries scored in the 2015 tournament equalled the record of the great Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana as most in a single World Cup.
The All Blacks were victorious in 2015 and Savea fulfilled his dream of providing for his parents who worked so hard for him and his brother Ardie to ensure the boys had opportunities to succeed.
“Julian was a very big kid, he was way, way big for his age,” Lina Savea, Julian’s mum said.
“It was really hard, for instance getting his rugby boots. He was already size 13, we couldn’t get any from town, so we had to go out to the Hutt, to actually look for some boots that fit him.
“He was already six foot and by the time he played for the under-13s, he was already up there and all the parents were getting annoyed because he was tackling all their kids, taking all of their kids out of the game.
“So, they were complaining so I literally had to carry his birth certificate, not his passport, his birth certificate, just to let them know that Julian is legit, that he’s not a 15-year-old playing in the under 13s.”
