All Blacks star Ardie Savea says sorry for throat-slitting gesture

New Zealand star Ardie Savea has apologised for the throat-slitting gesture he made during the Hurricanes' Super Rugby victory over the Melbourne Rebels on Friday.

Savea was shown a yellow card following a large brawl just before half-time and after an exchange of words with scrum-half Ryan Louwrens, he drew his right hand across his throat before marching off.

"I can understand the fans are furious around the gesture that I made," the All Blacks number 8 told Stan Sport.

"It’s just a heat of the moment kind of thing. It’s footy. Kids are watching us, we’re in the heat of the moment. Usually that’s out of character for me, so I put my hand up first and I apologise for that.

"For me, to get a yellow card for a push and shove….that’s just where rugby’s going.

"I’ve got to be better. We’re trying to clean up the game. I understand, there are no excuses for me, I’ve got to be better."

Savea, who has won 70 caps for New Zealand, is now likely to face disciplinary action.

Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

We need your consent to load this YouTube content We use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences

Watch live coverage of Munster v Scarlets (Friday 7.35pm) and Dragons v Connacht (Saturday 7.35pm) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.

Follow our live scoring and updates of this weekend's BKT United Rugby Championship games on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app.