All Blacks star Ardie Savea will miss the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season after the Moana Pasifika back-rower agreed a sabbatical to play in Japan.<\/b><\/p>\n
The back-rower last featured in the Japan Rugby League One in 2024 before he agreed a contract extension with New Zealand Rugby which kept him tied to the governing body until the conclusion of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n
However, written into that deal was another option to have a short-term stint abroad in 2026 and Savea<\/a> has once again taken that up.<\/p>\n Back for 2027<\/p>\n He will make the move to Kobe Steelers \u2013 the team he played for last year \u2013 before returning to Moana for the 2027 Super Rugby<\/a> campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cI have so much love for what we started with Moana this year so I\u2019m looking forward to coming back in 2027,\u201d Savea said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to leave, even though it\u2019s only for one season, but I\u2019ll be supporting the team from afar and will stay involved behind the scenes. This year at Moana Pasifika was the happiest I\u2019ve been in my career.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the other hand, Japan is a special place and I love the culture and the people. It\u2019s exciting to return to a club that has given me an opportunity to have beautiful experiences on and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n Moana Pasifika head coach Fa\u2019alogo Tana Umaga added: \u201cArdie obviously goes with our blessing.<\/p>\n \u201cThese sabbaticals are part of the modern game and we have been preparing for this for some time. We will continue to build the momentum of our movement in 2026 and work hard to grow our game so that we will be even better when he gets back to us in 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott Robertson admits to Springboks \u2018imitation\u2019 as All Blacks boss reveals what Rassie Erasmus has done \u2018beautifully\u2019<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n All Blacks stars abroad<\/p>\n