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Brent Pope: Arnie Savea to replace McCaw

24th November, 2015
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Hurricanes' Ardie Savea was one of the curfew breakers . (AAP Image/NZN Image/SNPA, Ross Setford)
Roar Guru
24th November, 2015
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New Zealand rugby analyst Brent Pope has hailed All Black great Richie McCaw as the greatest rugby player of all-time. He has backed Wellington Hurricanes flanker Ardie Savea to replace the recently retired New Zealand captain.

Speaking to students from Dublin City University, Pope spoke of McCaw’s leadership qualities, his humility and his rugby intelligence, and said that you’d be hard pressed to find a greater player than the three-time World Rugby Player of the Year.

“He’s just one of those players that is an incredible leader, he’s a humble go-across-the-trenches first type of captain, he’s made that position his in a high attrition area like number 7, he has made that position his as one of the world’s best”, said Pope.

“To play at number 7 for 150 games and never really have a bad performance, yes the cynics out there are going to give me the same old excuses ‘he cheats most of the time, he’s offside,’ but I say good on him. He famously scores more points on the annual New Zealand referee exams than the referees themselves”, added the former Otago Rugby Player of the Year.

“To win two World Cups, to be captain of the All Blacks, to win the World Player of the Year three times, to win the Tri-Nations, to win Super Rugby championships, I think you would be hard pressed to say that Richie McCaw is not the greatest player to play the game”.

Pope hailed McCaw as an all-round player and the greatest of the modern era. While he acknowledged that he didn’t change the face of the game, like former teammate Jonah Lomu, he did claim that he was the more complete player of the two.

McCaw’s retirement from international rugby leaves a gaping hole in the All Blacks’ backrow and while the Chiefs’ Sam Cane is being groomed as the heir apparent to McCaw, Pope views the younger Savea brother, Ardie, as a more ready-made successor.

“I think the next player to take over, from what is a bit like a Brian O’Driscoll situation over here in terms of huge boots to fill, is going to be Savea”, Pope added.

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“Again, he’s a humble type of player and I just see something in him. He’s fast, he’s aggressive and he’s strong”.

“If you’re asking me and I played at number 7 for a lot of my career I think the future of New Zealand Rugby at number 7 is Ardie Savea”, concluded Pope.

As always with New Zealand rugby, when one great player retires a future star is discovered, and as far as Pope is concerned, there will now be two Savea’s terrorising international defences.

If Ardie can have half the success that older brother Julian has had in international rugby then the rest of the rugby world is in trouble.

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