Savea hails 'dogs' Roigard and Love ahead of All Blacks clash with Ireland at Eden Park

All Blacks captain Ardie Savea has backed halfbacks Cam Roigard and Ruben Love to deliver again when New Zealand face Ireland at Eden Park on Saturday in the Nations Championship, describing the pair as relentlessly driven competitors who have been ready for Test rugby from the moment they arrived.

Roigard and Love were central to the Hurricanes’ Super Rugby Pacific title run last month before carrying their combination into the international arena under new All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie. Love endured a difficult opening to his Test career when he was shown a yellow card inside three minutes of the season opener against France, but the first five-eighth recovered to produce strong performances in both the France and Italy matches. He has accumulated 21 points across those two Tests, while Roigard has already crossed for three tries.

“They’ve been ready since the get-go,” Savea told reporters. “I’ve had the privilege to be with them in their early days in the Hurricanes and they’re dogs; they just locked in. The competitive people I’ve met — they don’t show it, but when they start to get to work, you see it.”

The All Blacks have also made a notable change in the forward pack, naming Tupou Vaa’i at blindside flanker. The versatile forward has featured in the backrow at Test level before but is predominantly used as a lock for both club and country. Anton Segner and Blues lock Sam Darry both drop out of the matchday 23, with Patrick Tuipulotu and Josh Lord named as the starting locks and two loose forwards retained on the bench.

Savea was equally warm about Vaa’i’s contribution to the squad environment. “He’s been awesome. Bit cheeky now and then off the field,” the captain said. “I love that about Tupes — it’s when he’s comfortable and he’s got that cheeky smile on him. But he’s been awesome. He’s a leader for our team and he leads well.”

Ireland arrive in Auckland having claimed a historic 2-1 series win in New Zealand four years ago, but the All Blacks have won the last three meetings between the sides, including the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Saint-Denis. The rivalry stretches back to Ireland’s landmark first-ever victory over New Zealand at Soldier Field in Chicago a decade ago, and Saturday’s fixture at Eden Park represents another high-stakes chapter.

“The next All Blacks Test is the biggest Test and it just happens to be here,” Savea said. “We haven’t really had to talk about it because we all know. We don’t fear it but it’s a great challenge for us to come here and play a quality Irish side and give the fans what they want.”