His body may not be used to working through such a heavy workload but Ardie Savea says he's loving the challenge of playing big minutes for the Hurricanes.
The loose forward admitted he was starting to feel the repercussions of his physical, intense play style after playing his third-straight 80 minute match against the Blues on Friday night.
"I am tired, when you're playing your third or fourth consecutive 80, but I wouldn't have it any other way," Savea said today.
Savea has put in nine 80-minute performances for the Hurricanes this season. In the team's other three games, he was rested twice to oblige his All Blacks rest requirements and the other match saw him play 64 minutes.
But despite the huge workload, Savea isn't getting worn down mentally.
"My mindset is I'm playing rugby, but I'm playing it like that mindset as a kid. You just go out there and have fun. That's how I feel at the moment."
Assistant coach Carlos Spencer said management has been aware of Savea and other players' energy levels.
"It's something we have to think about moving forward. We have started to lighten off the weeks building up to the games, so we've put a bit of emphasis on taking off a bit of workload during the week to make sure they're really fresh for the weekend.
"We've got one more game before our bye and it's important for us to get a good result this week."
The Hurricanes host the Jaguares this Friday before that bye.
SHARE ME