Coaches owed a top-drawer performance from Savea

Julian Savea is the man the All Blacks must have in the No11 jersey. Photo / Getty Images

There's never been any doubt about Julian Savea's World Cup place. He's the most deadly wing in the world game. He's the man the All Blacks must have in the No 11 jersey.

No one enjoys playing against him - too big, too strong, too fast. He scores tries no one else can and gives the All Blacks an intimidation factor.

But he owes the All Black coaches a big performance tonight. Really owes them. They've been remarkably good to him and more than fair in the way they've treated him these last weeks.

His World Cup place should have been in jeopardy. The coaches would have been well within their rights to take one look at him when he pitched up overweight and out of shape in Christchurch and drop him.

That's what would have happened in that forgotten age of kicking players up the arse and caring not for fragile egos - some public humiliation and the onus put on Savea to work his way back into shape on his own.

The coaches' disappointment in Savea would have been acute. He's been an All Black since 2012. He's been shortlisted as World Player of the Year and only a few months ago he signed a four-year contract extension that was, according to NZRU chief executive Steve Tew, a signature every bit as significant as Daniel Carter's and Richie McCaw's in 2011.

As the Hurricanes progressed through to the final, their training load would have lessened as they tried to keep players fresh. But that hardly explains how Savea managed to get so badly out of shape.

As a senior professional, Savea has a personal responsibility to manage his diet and training. It's a given that All Blacks know - because they get all the advice and support in the world - to monitor their food intake and ensure it reflects their training load.

What will have concerned the coaches is that Savea obviously went quite badly astray and either didn't notice or didn't have the motivation to do anything about if if he did.

Savea was given the benefit of the doubt - he genuinely didn't appear to realise he'd let himself go. And on that basis - combined with his obvious desire to commit to a training programme to put things right - the coaches kept him in camp and asked conditioning coach Nic Gill to work him ruthlessly. Everyone is satisfied Savea has learned his lesson. The onus is now on him to prove he has the desire and is still the player everyone knows he can be.