The half-time entertainment on grand final day in 2007 featured a player from the past, a player from the present, and a five-year-old dubbed a player of the future carrying the Provan-Summons Trophy on to the stage.
South Sydney great Jack Rayner was the former great. Darren Lockyer was the current champion. And a little blond-haired kid wearing the Coogee Dolphins jersey was none other than Hugo Savala.
Savala will be wearing the Sydney Roosters’ No.7 jersey against premiers Penrith on Saturday night in just his fifth NRL game.
Ahead of the match, his mother, Teresa, recalled how Hugo was selected to join Rayner and Lockyer at the grand final because the NRL wanted the Dolphins to be represented to mark the five-year anniversary of the club losing six of its members in the Bali bombings.
She also remembered that Hugo – the second eldest of her four children – had to travel to Sydney Olympic Park a few times that week for rehearsals.
Lockyer had undergone knee surgery and hobbled while carrying the heavy silverware.
“I remember seeing Hugo’s little hands waving while he was treading all over Jack’s feet,” Teresa said.
“It was such a fantastic day. The NRL wanted a player from the past, the present and future. There were highlights of Hugo played on the big screen.
“About two weeks later, we received a letter from [then NRL CEO] David Gallop, thanking Hugo for participating. David also said, ‘From what I’ve heard about you, that might be you one day playing [in the NRL]’.”
Darren Lockyer, Jack Rayner and Hugo Savala carry the Provan-Summons trophy during NRL grand final rehearsals in 2007
Savala’s father, Scott, a Sydney bookmaker for more than 20 years, hails from Scotland, and still has a thick accent from the land of his birth. He came to Australia for a working holiday in 1988, and played State League 1 with Dulwich Hill. His right boot was not as lethal as Hugo’s, but rival strikers always knew they were in for a torrid game against him. Scott loved the place and never returned home.
Scott’s grandfather was Polish, Teresa grew up in England, while her 89-year-old father, Manuel, is Portugese, and played soccer with Anorinha, the same club where global megastar Cristiano Ronaldo once cut his teeth.
Savala’s chance came thanks to the Roosters struggles at the start of the season. Experienced halfback Chad Townsend, recruited from North Queensand, has been trying hard but coach Trent Robinson wanted to change things up and started Savala in the halves last Friday against the Broncos, in Brisbane.
Not only did the Roosters cause an upset, but Savala’s booming right boot made it hard for the Broncos to start their sets in good field position.
Savala only ever wanted to play for the Roosters, despite being a South Sydney junior. One of his favourite memories was posing with James Maloney in the Chooks’ sheds in 2015.
He played with the Coogee Dolphins before they folded, then joined the Coogee Randwick Wombats, where one of his coaches was Corey Adams, an original cast member on Bondi Rescue.
“I’ve coached for 25 years, and the two best players and young men I’ve worked with are Hugo Savala and [South Sydney premiership winner] Jason Clark,” Adams said.
Hugo Savala on the attack for the Sydney Roosters against the Brisbane Broncos.Credit: NRL Photos
“Hugo would do anything for you, will help anyone. He’s from a great family, and he’s just a good person to be around.
“You only had to tell him things once and he’d get it straight away. He also had the most beautiful hands I’d seen. The only shit pass I’ve ever seen him throw in his life was to James Tedesco last Friday night against the Broncos.”
As a junior, Savala played representative cricket, AFL – he was in the same schoolboy side with Sydney Swans midfielder Errol Gulden – was a beach-sprint champion, and featured in the same NSW schoolboys rugby side as Wallabies centre Joseph Suaalii, South Sydney’s Tallis Duncan, Parramatta’s Will Penisini, Manly’s Tolu Koula, and Waratahs pair Miles Amatosero and Teddy Wilson.
Hugo Savala (second from right) with James Maloney in the Roosters sheds in 2015
Savala’s older brother, Charlie, always wanted to play rugby league with the Roosters, but left for Scotland during the pandemic, and is now playing rugby professionally at Northampton. He has also trained with the Scottish squad. For four straight years, Charlie and Hugo were the owners of the No.10 jersey in the first XV at Scots College. Another brother, Xavier, is a member of the Easts’ colts.
“Charlie would come back tomorrow to play with the Roosters, but his younger brother has now beaten him to the punch,” Scott said. “Hugo is a Rooster through and through.”
Teresa grew up loving Souths, and was convinced Hugo would support the Rabbitohs after attending a childcare centre where Elena Sutton, the mother of Bunnies’ legend John Sutton, worked. Reni Maitua’s mother, Lyn, worked at the same centre, and did her bit trying to turn the toddlers into Bulldogs fans.
“But Hugo always supported the Roosters, and never wanted to play for Souths,” Teresa said.
Savala stands at 193 centimetres, making him one of the tallest playmakers in the NRL. He made his debut off the bench in round two before a huge entourage that had gathered at CommBank Stadium to witness his special moment against the Panthers.
Two party buses were hired by Savala’s best friends, Max D’Agostino and Chase Hardaker, who earlier this month was judged to have ridden the biggest wave ever at Bondi Beach.
There was some excellent video footage uploaded to social media the night Savala played his first game, including a rowdy group of young men chanting “Savala” to the tune of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck. The Roosters won, and the Savala party kicked on back at the Robin Hood Hotel in Waverley.
“Our youngest, Lola, is only 15, and tried to join the celebrations using a fake ID, but was turned away,” Teresa said with a laugh.
“We named Lola after Jack Rayner’s wife who was so lovely to Hugo and our family during that 2007 grand final.”
Lola, for the record, is a member of the Sydney Swans academy, and completes the family’s gifted sporting quadrella.
Brad Fittler, whose own son attended Scots College, and who was one of the taller, bigger five-eighths during his own playing days, loved the fact Savala did not overplay his hand against the Broncos, admiring his passing skills
“I’m yet to see many players run over the top of him,” Fittler added.
How long Savala retains the No.7 jersey and keeps Townsend in reserve grade will be up to him.
Who knows what will happen when Sam Walker returns from a knee injury in the coming months. And who knows what will happen if the Chooks sign Daly Cherry-Evans next year.
It has already been one hell of a ride for Savala and his family and friends. The 23-year-old will only get better. Remember the name. Darren Lockyer might. David Gallop certainly will.
