Julian Savea’s dedication and leadership are pleasing the Hurricanes as much as his Super Rugby highlight reel moments.

The powerhouse All Blacks winger terrorised NSW Waratahs defenders while scoring two tries last weekend and, given his form, is sure to be a menace for the Blues in their match at Eden Park on Saturday.

One journalist’s post-training suggestion this week, that Savea had streaked away as the world’s premier winger, was dodged by Hurricanes backline coach Alama Ieremia.

However, the former All Blacks midfield back said Savea’s raw talent matched up well with some of the world class players who roamed open spaces during the peak of his career in the late 1990s.

Instead of comparing Savea with iconic winger Jonah Lomu – as many observers do – Ieremia leaned more towards another Wellington, Hurricanes and All Blacks household name.

“In my mind he’s probably more like Tana Umaga in terms of his all-round skills when he was on the wing,” Ieremia said.

“Julian’s well-balanced, he’s agile, he’s got a kicking game that can go with it and he’s slowly starting to get accurate on defence.

“We’ve just got to be careful we don’t talk him up too much but he’s certainly impressive at the moment.”

Ieremia said fans of Savea’s spectacular on-field moments – he scored 12 tries in nine Tests last year – might be surprised at the 22-year-old’s heavy work ethic and the time he spends on analysis.

“He’s pretty classy at the moment, Jules.

“It’s important for a second-year All Black. He’s come back and provided a lot of leadership and stability for us and given a lot of the boys confidence.

“He’s matured and that’s great to see because obviously we get the benefits.”

The Hurricanes are chasing a fifth successive win and will seek revenge over a Blues side who ambushed them in the first round in Wellington.

Ieremia says his team have progressed a lot since then but Saturday’s match will provide a good gauge of where they are at “physically and tactically”.