OPINION: It's funny how careers ebb and flow in rugby.
One minute you're the name on everyone's lips - the unstoppable force that's a shoo-in for All Blacks selection. The next, you're not in the 23.
That's the predicament Ardie Savea has found himself in.
His bullocking runs earned him 22 Test caps in two years. In 19 of them, he was the kind of super-sub most Test sides can only dream of.
Now, for the second straight test, the 24-year-old hasn't been named on the bench for the All Blacks.
Never mind toppling Sam Cane for the seven jersey, he must now supplant Matt Todd for the 20 jersey he seemed born to wear.
Todd is a wonderful player, but he's a work horse, not the leg-pumping, crowd-pleasing, impact player that you usually expect in a bench loose forward.
Yet, he's preferred right now.
So, where is Savea going wrong?
Steve Hansen says he's not physical enough in the tackle. He calls Savea a "scragger".
He doesn't miss tackles, but he doesn't make dominant ones. In rugby vernacular - that's a "work-on".
He's also not getting enough turnovers.
They are two key parts of an openside's game that simply can't be understated. So "work-on" he will.
In order to develop Savea's all-around game and iron out his kinks, they are giving him longer periods of game-time on this tour.
But that can't be in the big games, where they roll out the top team. It means big minutes in the non-Tests.
He played 80 minutes against the Barbarians and he's going to get similar time against the French XV in Lyon next week.
The thinking is, it's difficult to develop at the top level, when only featuring in small portions of games. It's like asking an out-of-form cricket batsman to get into top knick by playing Twenty20.
It's simply not conducive to fixing up parts of your game. If the team needs you to slog, there's no time to fix the subtleties of your footwork.
Inevitably, it doesn't work. Knowing they want bigger hits from Savea, the selectors have opted to give him for more time to get his eye in.
You can only hope that Savea gets his tackling and breakdown work right.
His X-factor is a point of difference the All Blacks could use off the bench at the next World Cup.
Ross Karl is Newshub sports rugby editor.
