All Blacks: Julian Savea focuses on getting fit to earn back spot in All Blacks squad

Julian Savea said he has plans to work hard in the coming months in order to earn back his All Blacks spot. Photo / Getty

Julian Savea says he is looking to get as fit as possible in hopes of earning back his spot in the All Blacks squad.

The storming winger, who has scored 46 tries in his 54 tests, went out of favour with All Blacks selectors this season after failing to impress during Super Rugby.

Soon after signing a four-year-extension with New Zealand Rugby, he missed out on selection for the British and Irish Lions test series.

In his last All Blacks appearance for the year, Savea stood in for Rieko Ioane in the third test against the Lions at Eden Park, but failed to impress with a patchy performance that saw him drop the ball with a free run to the tryline.

However, the Wellington Lions captain said he isn't finished yet playing in the black jersey as he plans to earn back his number 11 spot next season.

"That's the plan and I'm going to work really hard," Savea told the Radio Sport Breakfast.

"Obviously for me [playing in the All Blacks] is the end goal but first and foremost is playing really good footie and enjoying it."

Savea showcased promising talent in his 2012 test match debut, scoring three tries. Photo / Getty

After missing out on the Rugby Championship and the northern hemisphere tour, Savea was selected by the Barbarians who played against the All Blacks last month.

Savea told Radio Sport it was a very interesting experience to play against his former teammates and younger brother Ardie, revealing he struggled to retain his usual aggression on the field.

"I usually play with a lot of emotion and finding a bit of anger somewhere but because I knew everyone it was sort of hard to play with a lot of aggression, but I tried to play as best I could."

When asked about how it felt to watch Ioane play in his former spot, Savea praised the young Auckland player saying he 'was in complete awe'.

"The speed and the calmness that he's got at a young age is awesome," Savea said.

"That's the thing with wingers these days we've all got to stay on top of our feet and on our game because any new kid can come along and take your spot."

Savea is the second highest try score in All Blacks history. Photo / Getty

Hoping for a successful pre-season warm-up, Savea will be playing in the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens tournament in February and said he's excited to be a part of it.

"I'm competitive and I'm not going to be taking this tournament very lighting and I want to play really well."

"You defiantly need to be fit and for us it's just getting in good physical shape and being fit to run."

"Last year was just about smashing us and getting us fit ... it's going to be a good way to kick off the season," he said.