He is considered one of the greatest All Blacks, but very few know that during his teenage years, Sava'e Michael Jones would return home to Moataa to play for his village team.

Sava'e says he is a proud Moataa boy. He was only 16-years-old when he donned the black and white of Moaataa. 

"I was born in New Zealand, and was raised by my Moataa family. My mother, Maina was a strong Christian woman from Moataa. My father passed away when I was only four years old. It was my Moataa family that raised me because of that, I've always been a Moataa boy, through and through," Sava'e told the Samoa Observer. 

"Even though I lived in New Zealand, when I was 16, I used to come and play for our village during my school holidays. That's when my connection to Moataa rugby started. I used to come back every year then and play in the Moataa 7s, and that's where I suppose I started my rugby career.

"We had a wonderful team when the Marist Polynesian Airline Marist St Joseph's 7s first started. I think we won the first two in a row and that's always been a highlight for me. 

"Meeting some wonderful players, obviously Taufusi was still playing, Too Vaega, Danny Kaleopa, Andy Aiolupo, Filipo Saena, Lolagi was playing back then too. A lot of the boys went on to play for the Manu Samoa but I was playing for the All Blacks."

Sava'e said Moataa's contribution to Samoan rugby has been immense. He said it was a nursery for the Manu Samoa. He added that he is looking forward to the sevens championship that is part of the Moataa Rugby centennial celebration.

"It's a lot of pressure on the team because it is our tournament, and you never want to lose your tournament. But I'm looking forward to seeing all the other clubs coming to play," he said.

"I think it is another opportunity to showcase Samoa's sevens talent, and again in the same way that we sort of became rugby players playing for our village. These young men will be doing the same and then they can go on and become whatever their dreams are. We call it the 'field of dreams'."

Sava'e also mentioned that as the old boys of the Moataa rugby club, their role is to help out their club. 

"We built a club home there (Moataa), and we are trying to invest in our academy and pathways for our boys. I think Samoan rugby is a challenge for our young generations. It's probably not the same as when I was playing. 

"We have more young women as well, so we have to be innovative and creative on how we engage young Samoan rugby players to love and enjoy the game and to use it as a pathway to bigger things. 

"My advice to all our rugby players is always put God first, we have to honour God with our lives. If you honour God, he will honour you. "