- Julian and Tima Savea are selling their Coatesville estate to focus on new career ventures.
- The demands of rugby and family life left them unable to fully enjoy the property.
- They plan to establish a recovery centre for athletes and pursue coaching and mentoring.
Moana Pasifika star and former All Black Julian Savea and his influencer wife Tima are selling their luxury lifestyle estate as they plot their next career move.
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The Saveas and their three children had only just moved into their new five-bedroom home at 152 Mahoenui Valley Road, in Auckland’s Coatesville. But the demands of Julian’s rugby life, Tima’s career and the kids’ commitments around the North Shore left them exhausted. They just didn’t have the time left over to make the most of the 8734sqm block.
“We imagined the kids being out and about rather than on the iPads, watching TV,” Julian told OneRoof.
“But I found it really hard in terms of coming home from a big day of physical training, and [it] just got away from me. I still love it, and I don’t regret any of the decisions we have made, but finding the time to do it became pretty hard.”
For Julian, training starts at 7am and can go all day, and weekends are spent at games and appearances. Finding a half day free to cruise the block on a ride-on mower became all but impossible, although Tima has come off the bench and taken on that task.
“I love riding the lawnmower, it’s therapeutic. I just put a podcast on my headphones and ride. And kids, I cannot hear you,” she laughed.
The Saveas designed and built the five-bedroom lifestyle property while they were based in Wellington where Julian played for the Hurricanes. Photo / Supplied
Julian in his All Blacks jersey powering through the British & Irish Lions at Eden Park in 2017. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Julian is no stranger to extreme workouts. Here he is putting his muscles to the test in 2017. Today, his home gym is used for recovery from a recent injury. Photo / Nick Reed
She added: “We’re busy, we have a social life, our kids have sports every weekend, so we’re not at home constantly working on the property, doing the landscaping, cutting the lawns.”
But selling the home that they planned and dreamed about for four years – they bought the land back in 2021 on the recommendation of their builder, Alex Coburn of QPC – has an upside, as they plan to put the capital towards their next business venture.
With Moana Pasifika’s future uncertain, the Saveas have decided it is smarter to make the move now.
“I don’t think I would want to be doing any other job than rugby, and I’ve done that for a very long time, and I’m very grateful and privileged to be able to do that,” Julian said. “We’re not expecting the best,” he said of Moana Pasifika’s survival.
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Julian and Tima said they were planning to establish a recovery centre for both elite athletes and ordinary people. “I just think [good recovery] is massive, and it is something, as I got older, I have taken more seriously. I am just looking forward to when I can start,” Julian told OneRoof.
Julian also wants to realise his dream of coaching and mentoring, something he has been developing over the last few years with his own team. “To give back as well, I feel like I’ve got a lot of knowledge ... that is a massive passion for me as well.”
He said early in his All Black career that some legends helped him deal with the pressure, and he would like to do the same for the next generation. “A lot of the kids are getting signed out of school now to play Super Rugby, and what I see is a lot of them not handling the pressure. I feel like I can really help with that area, and I am passionate about that.”
The Saveas’ dream of a lifestyle block took root in 2018 when Julian was playing for RC Toulon in France, and they were living in a country house. When the family moved back to New Zealand, and Julian was with the Hurricanes, in Wellington, they busily drew up plans for their own country home with Coburn’s help.
The build took 18 months. Tima was hands-on, directing the architects and designers as they brought the H-shaped house to life.
Julian in action for Moana Pasifika in 2024. Photo / Andrew Cornaga, Photosport
The house was designed in an H-shape to give all the living areas view of the pool and land. Photo / Supplied
The loggia is a favourite spot. Photo / Supplied
The kitchen is at the heart of the home. Julian is the cook, and the stone kitchen bar is where everyone gathers; kids can be doing homework in the family room next door, or out in the garden and pool. The more formal lounge and dining area shows off the couple’s Kiwiana art, while the media room displays Julian’s illustrious rugby jerseys and caps.
Julian has claimed one of the three garages as his home gym (at his peak, he could lift 165kg). It’s also home to a Pilates machine and an infrared sauna, which helped him recover from a shoulder injury (and seeded the idea for the business).
The couple admit that with Julian’s career moves, they never stay in one house for long, and they are excited about the move. “We always knew that this was going to be a project. Build something, sell, and then maybe build again,” Tima said. “We’ve never really stayed in one house for too long. It has just been our life.”
Listing agents Jackie Parker and Kristina Marmont, from New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty, said the house was one of the best new builds in the area, with Marmont selling the land to the couple back in 2021. “This is one of the best streets in Coatesville, the golden mile of real estate,” Parker said.
“The [Dotcom] mansion is about 500m away at the end of the road; you’ve got a house on the road that sold for $11.5m. Houses of this ilk would be starting at circa $5m.”
Parker said that buyers were keen to buy finished new homes by top builders like QCP, rather than spend a year or two that it takes to build their own. “There’s also the ability with that home to add value to it – add an extra barn or an office to work from home, whatever you’d like to create there with landscaping.”
- 152 Mahoenui Valley Road, Coatesville, is for sale, expressions of interest closing June 3
