Kiwi wingers lead in revolution

I believe Julian Savea has the skills to follow their lead to really take his game into the stratosphere. Photo / Getty Images

A handful of wingers in New Zealand are revolutionising the position and I believe Julian Savea has the skills to follow their lead to really take his game into the stratosphere.

If you watched the performance of Nemani Nandolo in the Crusaders-Blues game, or if you look at the way James Lowe and Tim Nanai-Williams are playing at the Chiefs, you know they possess incredible skillsets and they're getting themselves into the game as much as possible.

Nandolo was a handful every time he touched the ball - but he also has a kicking game with his left foot, he has the ability to catch and drop the ball on to his foot in a nanosecond and, of course, he sets up tries by the way he attracts defenders and his ability to offload the ball.

Those are all the fundamental skills a midfield player would have and I think that's where the modern-day winger is going.

The Chiefs use Lowe's kicking game from inside the 22, they use him in all parts of the field and he's got the licence to step in as a first receiver from all over the field.

Nanai-Williams is the same. A couple of the breaks he made against the Force on Friday were from first or second receiver, where he made his way off his wing and made some scintillating runs, and then a couple of others saw him hold his position and skin a couple of players outwide.

I think it's a real bonus if a winger can play that way. Savea is without question the best winger in the country but, when you watch the way the likes of Lowe play, I wonder whether that's the next point of development for him.

Savea already has the skills and the ability - he's got good vision, he knows when to pass, he certainly has a kicking game - but we don't see him stepping in as a first receiver.

He's there gravitating towards the ruck and getting the ball but is doing that feeding off other players. I'm sure he could start to bring first receiver into his game and increase his already impressive skillset, which would make him even more devastating.

Encouraging Savea to play that way with the All Blacks, alongside Ben Smith, Corey Jane and Israel Dagg doing the same, would completely change the dynamic of the backline, giving you first receivers with all sorts of different numbers on their backs.

I also think it's the way rugby is going. You want your game-breakers with their hands on the ball as much as they possibly can. The game has evolved so much now that everybody creates for everybody else.

If you look at the world's best, they can slot in anywhere during the course of an attacking sequence, be a first receiver or second receiver or be on the end of the chain.

Kieran Read's a classic example of that, comfortable at playing on the wing or one in from the wing, and someone like Sean Fitzpatrick modernised the hooker position to play not so tight.

We as New Zealanders lead the way in terms of the skill level of players 1-15. And I think that's something now that will nearly be a requirement for a winger.