Injured Ardie Savea to miss final test against Springboks in Baltimore

Ardie Savea will miss the final match of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour after a suspected shoulder injury in the third test and will not travel with the All Blacks to Baltimore.

The All Blacks captain was taken off just after the half-hour mark after he was seen being cleared out of a ruck by Springboks hooker Malcolm Marx.

As Savea recoiled from the clear out, he stayed hunched over with his arm swinging loose before the trainers came on to take him off the field.

The 32-year-old had a strong performance during his time on the pitch, crossing over for both his side’s tries in the first half.

Luke Jacobson assumed the captaincy duties after Savea’s removal, while Wallace Sititi came on to replace him in Soweto.

The Springboks surged after his departure, adding seven points through a penalty try off a strong scrum in the 36th minute. The hosts went on to win the match 29-24.

All Blacks captain Ardie Savea is expected to be out for the remainder of the series after coming off in the first half of the third test with an injury. Photo / SmartFrame

Coach Dave Rennie confirmed that his captain would not travel with the team to the United States because of his injury.

“Obviously [with] Ardie’s injury, he won’t travel now, but we’ll work out what it looks like over the next few hours,” he said to Sky Sport after fulltime.

Speaking on Sky Sport, former All Blacks prop Angus Taʻavao said Savea’s departure will hit the team hard.

“The impact he was having on the game was immense and I think it’s not just what he does around his physical side of the game, it’s his leadership and the way he interacts with the officials, the way he interacts with the boys,” Ta’avao said.

“I’m no doctor, but I would be surprised if he played again this year. It looked to me like it was a shoulder dislocation and I think probably moving forward the best thing would be to get him right for what’s coming in the future.

“And I think it’s probably good for him. He’s had a big run of rugby, he missed the start of this series to get a bit of a rest, but he gives everything, his body, his mind, his soul, his spirit, and it’s probably an opportunity for him to step away and get some family time and refresh and recoup building towards a big 2027.”

Ardie Savea acknowledges supporters after the defeat to South Africa. Photo / Photosport

Midfielder Quinn Tupaea was also forced off after he went down awkwardly in a tackle and appeared to injure his knee.

Rennie suggested there would be changes to the starting XV in Baltimore, but didn’t give an indication as to who might replace Savea.

“I think we’ll make a couple of changes, we always talked about doing that. It’s a long series, got a big travel.”

The All Blacks managed to score two more tries after Savea was taken off through Will Jordan and Samisoni Taukei’aho, but their inability to kick goals left too many points on the table against a clinical Springboks side.