Julian Savea facts for kids
Savea representing New Zealand at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, September 2015
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| Full name | Sio Julian Savea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 7 August 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 192 cm (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (227 lb; 16 st 3 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Rongotai College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Ardie Savea (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sio Julian Savea (born August 7, 1990) is a famous New Zealand professional rugby union player. He is known for playing as a wing or centre. Julian currently plays for Wellington in the National Provincial Championship and for Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby. He used to play for the Hurricanes and for Toulon in France. From 2012 to 2017, he played 54 games for the New Zealand national team, also known as the All Blacks.
Julian has also played for New Zealand in rugby sevens and for the Under-20 team. His nickname is "The Bus," given to him by his Under-20s coach, Dave Rennie. Julian was a very important player for the team that won the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He scored the most tries in that tournament, with 8 tries. Julian is one of the top try-scorers in New Zealand's history, with 46 tries in his international career.
He was nominated for the World Rugby Player of the Year award in both 2014 and 2015. In 2015, he won the award for Try of the Year.
Contents
Early Rugby Career
Julian Savea went to Rongotai College in Wellington, New Zealand. In 2008, he joined the New Zealand secondary schools team. He also became part of the Hurricanes academy squad.
In 2009, Julian made his first appearance for the New Zealand sevens team. This was at the 2009 Adelaide Sevens tournament.
In 2010, Julian was chosen for the New Zealand Under-20 team. They played in the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina. He scored 8 tries in that tournament, which New Zealand won. Julian was named the IRB Junior Player of the Year. Because of his great performance, he was selected for the 2010 Wellington Lions squad. This team played in the 2010 ITM Cup. In 2010, many people thought Julian Savea would be "the next Jonah Lomu," another famous rugby player.
Playing for Clubs
Hurricanes Team
In 2012, Julian Savea played his second season for the Hurricanes. His performance in 2012 was so good that he was called up to play for the All Blacks. This was for a three-test series against Ireland.
In 2016, Julian had a tough season. He was put on the bench for the Hurricanes' last three matches. Other players like Jason Woodward, Cory Jane, and James Marshall were chosen to play instead. The next year, he was also benched for a semi-final game. This happened when Vince Aso returned from an injury.
Julian scored 50 tries for the Hurricanes during his time in Super Rugby. His career with the Hurricanes ended in 2018 when he signed with Toulon. Julian played 116 games for the Hurricanes. This makes him one of the players with the most games played in Super Rugby history. His last game for the Hurricanes was on July 28, 2018. It was a semi-final match against the Crusaders, which the Hurricanes lost 12-30.
Wellington Lions Team
Julian made his first-class debut in July 2010. In that game, he scored a long-distance try. This helped the Wellington Lions win an ITM Cup pre-season match against Canterbury. He played as a right wing in 12 out of 14 ITM Cup games. He scored eight more tries, including one in his championship debut. This was against Tasman, and he scored two more the next week against Otago.
Julian was not chosen for the All Blacks in the 2017 Rugby Championship. So, he played his first game for Wellington in four years. He played on the right wing. When Brad Shields got injured, Julian became the team captain. He led the team until Shields returned.
In the summer of 2023, Julian Savea signed with Moana Pasifika. This team competes in the Super Rugby championship.
International Rugby Career
Playing for the All Blacks
Julian Savea was chosen for the All Blacks squad in 2012. This was his first year playing international rugby. On June 9, 2012, Julian scored three tries in his first game for the All Blacks. This was against Ireland at Eden Park. He was the first All Black to score three tries against Ireland in a test match. He was also the fourth player to score three tries in his very first All Black test game. Since his debut, Julian has been one of the best try-scorers in international rugby.
Julian became a regular player for the All Blacks in his first few years. In 2014, he was nominated for World Rugby's Player of the Year award. His teammate Brodie Retallick eventually won the award.
Julian was part of the 31-man All Black squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He scored 8 tries during the tournament. Julian's 8 tries tied the record for most tries in a single tournament. This record was previously held by Jonah Lomu and South Africa's Bryan Habana. Julian scored hat-tricks (three tries in one game) in two of these games. One hat-trick was in a quarter-final game against France. His performance against France led to him being compared to Lomu. Julian was one of the best players in the tournament. He was nominated again for World Rugby's "Player of The Year" award. His teammate Dan Carter won that award. Julian also won "Try of The Year" for one of his tries against France in the World Cup.
Even though he kept scoring tries in 2016, Julian was not playing his best. When Waisake Naholo was healthy, he was chosen over Julian as the starting left wing. Israel Dagg played on the right wing. Julian continued to start internationally because Naholo and Nehe Milner-Skudder were injured. Milner-Skudder did not play internationally all year due to shoulder surgery. Julian came off the bench and became the fifth New Zealander to score 40 tries in international rugby. He scored against Australia in Sydney on August 20, 2016. Julian was the fastest to reach 40 tries, doing it in his 44th match. He broke the record of 40 tries from 46 tests, held by Joe Rokocoko. The All Blacks won that game against the Wallabies 42-8.
On June 16, 2017, Julian scored his 46th test try against Samoa. This happened during a 78-0 win. This made Julian the second-highest try scorer for the All Blacks. He tied with Rokocoko and former All Blacks fullback Christian Cullen.
Julian lost his starting spot in the All Blacks to Rieko Ioane for the first two tests against the British and Irish Lions in 2017. But he started in the third test on July 8, 2017. This was his last game in the black jersey. This happened because Waisake Naholo was injured and Ioane was sick.
After not playing well in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Julian was not chosen for the All Blacks squad. This happened for the 2017 Rugby Championship on his 27th birthday. Ioane, Naholo, and his Hurricanes teammate Nehe Milner-Skudder were all healthy again.
Even with many injuries to the All Blacks' outside players in 2017, Julian was not called back to play internationally. Players like Seta Tamanivalu, David Havili, and Matt Duffie were chosen instead. This led Julian to play for the Barbarians Club against his former All Blacks teammates on November 5, 2017. Julian played the whole game for the Barbarians. However, George Bridge, a Crusaders winger, played better and scored two tries. The Barbarians lost 22-31 to the All Blacks, who had Julian's younger brother Ardie Savea on their team.
International Tries Scored
Julian Savea has scored many tries for the All Blacks. Here is a list of his international tries:
| Try | Opponent | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, 2, 3 |  Ireland |
Auckland, New Zealand | Eden Park | Mid-year rugby test series | 9 June 2012 | Won |
| 4 |  Argentina |
Wellington, New Zealand | Westpac Stadium | Rugby Championship | 8 September 2012 | Won |
| 5, 6 | Argentina |
La Plata, Argentina | Estadio Ciudad de La Plata | Rugby Championship | 29 September 2012 | Won |
| 7, 8 |  Scotland |
Edinburgh, Scotland | Murrayfield Stadium | End-of-year rugby test series | 11 November 2012 | Won |
| 9, 10 |  Italy |
Rome, Italy | Stadio Olimpico | End-of-year rugby test series | 17 November 2012 | Won |
| 11, 12 |  England |
London, England | Twickenham Stadium | End-of-year rugby test series | 1 December 2012 | Lost |
| 13 |  France |
Christchurch, New Zealand | AMI Stadium | Mid-year rugby test series | 15 June 2013 | Won |
| 14 | Argentina |
Hamilton, New Zealand | Waikato Stadium | Rugby Championship | 7 September 2013 | Won |
| 15 | Argentina |
La Plata, Argentina | Estadio Ciudad de La Plata | Rugby Championship | 29 September 2013 | Won |
| 16 |  Australia |
Dunedin, New Zealand | Forsyth Barr Stadium | End-of-year rugby test series | 19 October 2013 | Won |
| 17, 18 | England |
London, England | Twickenham Stadium | End-of-year rugby test series | 16 November 2013 | Won |
| 19 | Ireland |
Dublin, Ireland | Aviva Stadium | End-of-year rugby test series | 24 November 2013 | Won |
| 20 | England |
Dunedin, New Zealand | Forsyth Barr Stadium | Mid-year rugby test series | 14 June 2014 | Won |
| 21, 22, 23 | England |
Hamilton, New Zealand | Waikato Stadium | Mid-year rugby test series | 21 June 2014 | Won |
| 24 | Australia |
Auckland, New Zealand | Eden Park | Rugby Championship | 23 August 2014 | Won |
| 25, 26 | Argentina |
Napier, New Zealand | McLean Park | Rugby Championship | 6 September 2014 | Won |
| 27 | Argentina |
La Plata, Argentina | Estadio Ciudad de La Plata | Rugby Championship | 27 September 2014 | Won |
| 28, 29 |  United States |
Chicago, USA | Soldier Field | End-of-year rugby test series | 2 November 2014 | Won |
| 30 |  Wales |
Cardiff, Wales | Millennium Stadium | End-of-year rugby test series | 23 November 2014 | Won |
| 31, 32 |  Namibia |
London, England | London Stadium | 2015 Rugby World Cup | 24 September 2015 | Won |
| 33, 34, 35 |  Georgia |
Cardiff, Wales | Millennium Stadium | 2015 Rugby World Cup | 2 October 2015 | Won |
| 36, 37, 38 | France |
Cardiff, Wales | Millennium Stadium | 2015 Rugby World Cup | 17 October 2015 | Won |
| 39 | Wales |
Auckland, New Zealand | Eden Park | Mid-year rugby test series | 11 June 2016 | Won |
| 40 | Australia |
Sydney, Australia | ANZ Stadium | Rugby Championship | 20 August 2016 | Won |
| 41 | Australia |
Wellington, New Zealand | Westpac Stadium | Rugby Championship | 27 August 2016 | Won |
| 42 | Argentina |
Hamilton, New Zealand | Waikato Stadium | Rugby Championship | 10 September 2016 | Won |
| 43 |  South Africa |
Christchurch, New Zealand | AMI Stadium | Rugby Championship | 17 September 2016 | Won |
| 44, 45 | Australia |
Auckland, New Zealand | Eden Park | End-of-year rugby test series | 22 October 2016 | Won |
| 46 |  Samoa |
Auckland, New Zealand | Eden Park | Mid-year rugby test series | 16 June 2017 | Won |
New Zealand Under-20 Team
Julian Savea was named the 2010 IRB Junior Player of the Year. He was the best player at the IRB World U20 tournament. He scored eight tries in just three games. He scored four tries in one match against Samoa. He also scored two tries each against Wales and South Africa. Julian played on the right wing for New Zealand in the 2010 World U20 tournament.
New Zealand Sevens Team
Julian made his debut for the New Zealand Sevens team at the 2009 Dubai Sevens. He also played in Sevens tournaments in Hong Kong, Adelaide, London, and Scotland.
Awards and Achievements
Team Awards
- Hurricanes
- New Zealand
Individual Awards
- IRB Player of the Year - Nominee - 2014, 2015
Personal Life
Julian Savea is from Samoan descent. His younger brother, Ardie Savea, is also a Hurricanes and All Blacks player.
In December 2015, Julian married his girlfriend, Fatima. They had been together for three years. In December 2017, they announced they were expecting their first child. Their daughter, Jude Telesia Savea, was born on December 7, 2017.
See also
In Spanish: Julian Savea para niños
