The Bus may be running on fumes but at his peak he was the best winger in world rugby.
That’s the view of former England international Chris Ashton, who admitted in a piece for The XV website that former All Black star Julian Savea left him feeling helpless each time he faced him.
“If you asked me the toughest wing I ever faced, I’d have no hesitation in saying Julian Savea,” Ashton wrote.
“I felt like he scored a hat-trick against me every time I played him. He was unbelievable. You’d hit him as hard as possible but his hip-strength was freakish, you just couldn’t understand how he could still be driving his legs.
“Clearly he was in a side that gave him a lot of space but once he had it, you weren’t stopping him.
“I felt like I was goalkeeping against him. I didn’t feel comfortable.”
Savea played 54 tests for the All Blacks between 2012 and 2017, scoring 46 tries to put himself tied for second on the list of most tries in tests for New Zealand. Only Doug Howlett has scored more and Savea’s tries came at a better clip per game than any other All Black with more than 35 tries.
He won a World Cup medal with the All Blacks in 2015 but after losing his All Blacks place, joined French club Toulon in 2018 and had a turbulent stay, with his form publicly criticised by the club’s owner.
He returned to New Zealand earlier this year and has been part of the Wellington squad in the current NPC.
Ashton, who played 44 tests for England and scored 20 tries, also rated former Springboks flier Bryan Habana.
“I faced some good boys in my time with England. Internationally Bryan Habana was just electric. He had a brilliant rugby brain, which is why he got so many turnovers and intercepts. It seemed like the game came too easily to him.
“Whatever he did, he did it so efficiently and fast it was hard to get an edge on him. He wasn’t really a stepper but he could change direction fast, like a computer game,” he wrote for The XV.
“Someone I always had a lot of time for was Vincent Clerc. We were on different sides but we sized each other up across the pitch like boxers. We were very similar players in that he’d pop up everywhere – he didn’t just stick to his wing. There was a mutual respect, so I’m glad I met him at Toulon. He’s such a nice fella and would always want to talk about the game. If I’m honest, I’m actually pretty jealous he scored 100 tries in the Top14.
“I’ve been pleased to see how Jonny May has progressed. Ever since the New Zealand try, where he took Conrad Smith on the outside, he must have thought to himself, ‘wow I can do it on the highest stage’ and he’s never looked back.”
