Julian Savea has come out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, saying he would take a knee during a national anthem if he was still part of the All Blacks.
The issue has been sparked down-under following news the Wallabies are considering taking a knee ahead of next weekend's Rugby Championship opener/
When asked if he would kneel, Savea was definitive in his view.
"For sure, it’s definitely an issue that is ongoing," Savea says.
"I definitely probably would kneel. For me, it’s about having a self-awareness of what is going on in the world and understanding and not just listening to what the media is saying."
Savea was strong in his support for the movement, but also clear that people should look deeper into the issue and make sure they are doing their own research instead of just listening to the media.
"Doing your own research, doing what is real and what is fake. So for me, 100 percent I would support the movement," Savea says.
Rugby Australia says it will back its players if they decide to kneel in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Wallabies revealed their new indigenous-design jersey, which will be worn during the October 31 test against the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie is in support of the movement, but wants the focus to be on the past and celebrating the indigenous people that have worn the jersey previously..
"The key thing is about honouring our indigenous people and we want the focus to be on that," Rennie says.
"Everyone’s got their own opinions around the other situation, we want the focus to be on our history and our past.
"We’ve certainly talked about the indigenous jersey as a group, we'd like to see that represented in our test jersey every week and not just a one-off and I think this is the first step in regard to embracing that part of our history."
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