Leinster sources offer update on rumours of Ardie Savea move

This would be huge.

The NZ Herald have reported that an internal review into the All Blacks set-up revealed continued unhappiness with the management led by head coach Scott Robertson.

The same paper reported in December on similar frustrations from players after a mediocre Autumn Nations Series, which saw a number of under-par performances and a loss to England.

One of the disgruntled players is the world-class and 2023 World Player of the Year Ardie Savea, who is said to be looking at extending his stay with Japanese side the Kobe Steelers, or possibly moving to Europe, with Leinster an option.

If Leinster were to sign Savea, it would continue their trend of having an All Black in the squad, following on from Charlie Ngatai and Jordie Barrett, with Rieko Ioane currently on a short-term contract with the province.

Given Leinster's backline depth, a switch to an All Black forward would make sense, and with RG Snyman likely to be moving on as well at the end of the season, space would be freed up.

The unofficial IRFU rule is that provinces are only permitted to have three NIQ players in their squad, but these rules can be amended, as is the case with Munster who currently have four NIQs.

However, since the report, the Irish Independent's Rúaidhrí O'Connor wrote that his Leinster sources have 'indicated' that they are not in the running to sign Savea.