Ardie Savea prayed on sideline after 'confusing' sub

All Blacks loose forward Ardie Savea took time out to pray after a red card led to his confusing early substitution during the loss to Ireland on Saturday night.

Savea made way for a replacement just after the 30th minute mark as Angus Ta'avao was given his marching orders for a tackle on Garry Ringrose that led to a head clash.

The red card reduced the All Blacks to 13 men for a period with Leicester Fainga'anuku having already been yellow carded.

Savea says he was confused like everyone else.

He says he was a bit frustrated and wasn’t even watching the game.

The All Blacks' decider with Ireland kicks off at 7.05pm on Saturday in Wellington.

Source: www.1news.co.nz