Savea siblings braced for Twickenham clash

Ardie Savea senses older brother Julian will make life hazardous for the All Blacks when they face the Barbarians at Twickenham.

Ardie Savea won't mind if he's known as the Bus Stop after going head to head with older brother Julian at Twickenham.

The dynamic siblings are on opposite sides of a rugby field for the first time in Saturday's tour opener between the All Blacks and Barbarians.

Tryscoring machine Julian is the big name in the invitation side.

The 46-Test try All Black known as "The Bus" spoke this week of a desire to prove a point after missing most of the world champions' Tests in 2017.

Ardie gets a rare start on the All Blacks openside flank and expects there will be a familiar figure coming his way.

"He's pretty pumped so hopefully he doesn't run down my channel," younger brother said.

"Off set piece the wingers come full steaming at you. So it's either me or TJ (Perenara) who makes the tackle."

Any hope Julian might treat the game as a festive outing was dispelled when the brothers met on their day off on Wednesday.

A simple exchange was enough.

"I didn't really ask him. I just knew, just by talking to him that he's ready to go this week," Ardie said.

"At the same time, we're ready as well.

"I said to him, 'we're brothers off the field but when we come together, it's going to be a different story'."

Julian's compelling efforts and successful stint as captain during Wellington's dominant NPC season didn't go unnoticed by Ardie.

He says it was obvious his brother would be knocking loudly on the international door next year, looking to add to his 46 tries in 54 Tests.

"He could have dropped it and had a sulk but he's fighting hard and he's working hard. Most of all, he's having fun," Ardie said.

"You're seeing him running over guys again. Hopefully he doesn't do that to us this week."


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Source: AAP


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