2017–2018
Savea was one of the highest try-scorers for the 2017 Super Rugby season, scoring six that year including a double in the Hurricanes' opening match for the year within the first ten minutes. The Hurricanes won their opening match 83-17 against the Sunwolves, with Savea playing the full 80 minutes.
Savea was selected in the 33-man squad for the 2017 Pasifika Challenge against Samoa and the three-test series against the touring British and Irish Lions. Savea started at number 8, against Samoa, because All Blacks Captain Kieran Read had not yet recovered from his broken thumb. Savea scored two tries in the 78-0 demolition of Samoa and came off the bench as a replacement in all three tests against the Lions in a drawn series. Despite performing better than starting openside flanker Sam Cane, Savea was retained as an impact player off the bench for most of the 2017 Rugby Championship. A start against Argentina in New Plymouth was the exception, with Cane replacing Savea in the 44th minute of the 39-22 win. Despite a good performance, Savea's was overshadowed by Cane and by Vaea Fifita who was Man of the Match.
With Matt Todd preferred by All Black coach Steve Hansen during tests, Savea only made two appearances on the 2017 end-of-year tour, starting in wins over the Barbarians and a French XV.
Although the 2018 Super Rugby season proved to be a mixed season for Savea, Savea performed well against France during the mid-year Steinlager series, with his performance in the first two tests including an outstanding try. Due to Sam Cane's ongoing poor discipline, Savea earned a start at openside flanker during the final test of the series, on 23 June 2018. Although the All Blacks defeated France 49-14 in the third test, winning the series 3-0, it proved Savea to be luckless, with Savea coming off injured in the 16th minute, with Matt Todd replacing Savea. Savea missed the 2018 Super Rugby playoffs due to injury.
Savea recovered from his ankle injury in time for the 2018 Rugby Championship, replacing Sam Cane off the bench in both Bledisloe Cup tests against Australia. Savea's dominance over Australia earned him a start against Argentina's Los Pumas for round 3 of the competition, on 8 September 2018. Savea lasted the full 80 minutes against Los Pumas, with the All Blacks winning 46-24, but Savea only earned 12 minutes against South Africa's Springboks the following week. Although Savea only played for 12 minutes during the All Blacks' 34-36 shock loss to South Africa, he still played well and scored a try.
Savea was released by the All Blacks for the Wellington Lions during 2018, starring in a 52-7 win over Southland during the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup. This was his first fixture for Wellington since his All Black debut.
For round 5 of the 2018 Rugby Championship, with Kieran Read being rested, Savea was scheduled to be used as impact off the bench for the All Blacks as usual, with Luke Whitelock starting at number 8 in Read's absence, on 29 September 2018. Savea, however, was drafted into the starting lineup only hours before the test against Los Pumas, with Whitelock falling ill. Savea went on to dominate his opposite number 8, Javier Ortega Desio, winning the first "Man of the Match" award of his international career. Savea lasted the full 80 minutes, with the All Blacks beating Los Pumas 35-17. Savea played outstandingly the following week, in the second test against South Africa, when he replaced the injured Sam Cane only 36 minutes into the test. Savea challenged the Springboks as well as scored his seventh career try in the final minute. Savea's try was converted by first-five, Richie Mo'unga, who won the test for the All Blacks through the kick, making the final score a 32-30 win.
Savea became a regular starter for New Zealand during the 2018 end-of-year tour, with Sam Cane out injured with a fractured neck. Savea used his time as a regular starter to surpass Cane as a player, being one of the few players to shine for New Zealand in a narrow 16-15 win over England, and a 9-16 loss to Ireland. Savea played in the last test of the year, starting for the All Blacks in a 66-3 victory over Italy, before coming off in the 48th minute for newcomer, Dalton Papalii. Savea finished the year as one of the best-performing New Zealanders in the opinion of many, scoring three tries during the 2018 season, making him the highest try-scorer of any All Black forward for the season.
