Andre Savelio insists he is comfortable with his decision to step away from full-time rugby league at the age of 29.
Savelio left Huddersfield Giants in October with a statement released by the club stating that the back-rower would be leaving the club to focus on his health after discussions with specialists. Those discussions centred around Savelio’s ongoing struggle with rare brain condition encephalitis, which he has lived with since he was first diagnosed in 2013.
In the 11 years since the initial diagnosis, he has learned to handle the illness, which causes the brain to swell, with bouts being few and far between. The condition’s symptoms are varied but for the New Zealand-born forward it means periods of memory loss, with the former St Helens, Warrington Wolves and Hull FC man losing chunks of his life.
The most recent spell came on December 11, 2023, exactly a year ago, with Savelio effectively blacking out until January 5, almost one month later. That episode was the longest Savelio has experienced since his initial diagnosis and after speaking with specialists and starting medication, he was forced to sit out of the first half of Huddersfield’s 2024 Super League season.
He went on to make nine appearances for the Giants last season, but following a conversation with the club, Savelio made the brave decision to call time on his full-time rugby league career at the end of the season.
“I’m more than content with where I’m at,” Savelio told Serious About RL, opening up publicly about the condition for the first real time. “Over the years I’ve managed it and got better at managing it to an extent. The clubs I’ve been at have always been real good with it too, including Huddersfield.
“When I have a little relapse of the situation, I don’t really remember it. For example at Huddersfield, I trained through the off-season, end of October and all the way through November, but it got to December 11 and to about January 5 there’s just no memory there. December 11 I remember training, and I came back round on January 5, I haven’t got any recollection of what went on.
“It’s happened quite a few times over my career but that was probably the longest one, just short of a month. It’s normally like a 10-day period or maybe just a week, but that was a four-week period.
“My mum being a nurse, we went down the specialist route, spoke to doctors and I had to go back onto medication. I couldn’t play until I’d come off the medication and then I had some catching up to do.”
Savelio was contracted for another season at Huddersfield, having penned a two-year deal with the club in October 2023 after spending five seasons in the black and white of Hull FC. Ultimately, though, the decision to cut his time with the club short was one that seemed to suit all parties.
“When I sat down with Robbo (Luke Robinson) at the end of the season he was good about it and gave it to me as it was,” Savelio added. “I was only available for 48 per cent of sessions and games.
“They wanted a bit of salary cap released and to me it made sense because I didn’t want the pressure of it again. That was what it came down to. After I sat there and thought about it, I felt a bit of weight lifted off my shoulders. In my head I didn’t want to back into another full-time system.
“I don’t doubt my ability but if it happens again, when you come back it’s backs to the wall because you have to prove yourself. The pressure I felt when I missed the first six months – coming back we were running about seventh and not playing well, so there was pressure on us as a team and I had pressure on myself because I’d missed that much rugby, I couldn’t put myself back through that again.
“I just made the call, I was content with where I was at in terms of full-time and what I’ve done in rugby league full-time wise.”
Interestingly, the decision isn’t likely to be the end of Savelio’s time in the sport. The condition isn’t related to rugby league and therefore the back-rower is keen to play on in a part-time environment.
As such, he is hoping to join a Championship club ahead of the 2025 season and for the first time in his adult life, he is ready to take up a job away from the sport, too.
“I will play again and I’ll probably play again this year but it won’t be Super League,” he said. “I’ve not spoken to many teams but I have got a preference where I have people I know and I’ve made a bit of a promise to a certain Championship CEO that if I play on it’ll be for his club. We’ll see how that unfolds over the next couple of weeks.
“I am going to do a bit of part-time stuff on the side. I’m thinking about going into a mentoring job. That’s something I’m interested in.”
The decision brings an end to an 11-year spell at the pinnacle of the sport, with his career starting with St Helens and taking in spells with Castleford Tigers, Warrington Wolves and Brisbane Broncos before joining Hull and eventually Huddersfield.
So, how does Savelio look back on his time at the pinnacle of the sport?
“There’s regrets, every player will say they have some, but I’m so content and grateful with everything rugby has taught me and provided for me and my family” he said. “One glaring regret for me is the way I left Saints early on. I don’t regret leaving because I didn’t want to play for that coach, but in my final months there I didn’t want anything to do with anyone there because I was pushing hard to leave. I was young and wish I went about it better – that period taught me a lot
“I’ve spoken to Mike Rush a few times over the years and it’s still like it was when he took me as a 15-year-old. He was a bit of father figure for me coming through there, so the way I left and ended that chapter with people in the organisation is my biggest regret without a doubt. Like I said I don’t regret leaving, I needed to. But the manner I went about it I’d change, if I could.
“In terms of positives, I’ve got heaps but the one big one is definitely my time at Hull. I feel like I went there as a bit of a kid but I turned into a man. Radders (Lee Radford) took a chance on me because I was injured at the time so I’m super grateful. Really enjoyed playing under Hodgo (Brett Hodgson). Just my time there, I really enjoyed it, they were probably my favourite years.”
