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New Zealand’s Ardie Savea will make history against Canada but for a much more novel reason than most would assume. Savea, who has a history of eye injuries, will become the first player in rugby history to take the field in a World Cup game wearing protective goggles should he enter play.
"A couple of years ago I realised I had bad vision in my left eye. Everything's kind of blurry. I told All Blacks doctor Tony Page that it was getting worse and now we're doing something about it,” Savea said.
While you wouldn’t know from his play so far this tournament, Savea’s vision in his left eye has been deteriorating and so he’s come to this decision with his life after rugby in mind.
"Obviously if my right eye goes, I might be potentially blind. I've got my little girl and, hopefully, future kids and a bigger family, so I want to be able to see. I'm just thinking of the bigger picture and trying to protect my eyes."
The move isn’t completely unheralded as Italian player Ian McKinley first wore the goggles in a Test match against Ireland this August after losing vision in his left eye following a boot to the face.
Savea also opened up recently about how his eye issues aren’t the only thing that’s been affect him during this world cup campaign. The mental health advocate and father of one described the difficulties of being away from his family in a recent Instagram post.
"I've had moments where I've cried because I miss my girls who are at home and just wish I was with them. It's been [five] weeks," he wrote.
Despite these issue, Savea looked in fine form in the All Blacks opening game against South Africa. The 25-year-old, who’s brother and club teammate Julian won the tournament in 2015, put in a solid performance and played all 80 minutes in his nations 23-13 win.
While New Zealand will be determined on getting the results they need to win their third consecutive world cup, Savea exemplifies a player who knows there is more to life than rugby.
