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‘Feeling good’: All Blacks choose Roigard over Christie for Springboks Test
By Finn Morton
Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard is in line for his second Test after being named on the bench for the All Blacks’ clash with the World Champion Springboks at Twickenham.
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Roigard played just under 20 minutes off the pine during the All Blacks’ emphatic 38-7 win over fierce rivals Australia at the world-famous MCG last month.
Playing in front of almost 84,000 people, the 22-year-old showed All Blacks selectors enough as the race for World Cup spots continued to heat up.
About 30 minutes after the full-time siren sounded at ‘the G,’ a wide-eyed Roigard walked down the tunnel and spoke with reporters outside the All Blacks’ changeroom.
With The Rugby Championship trophy firmly in his grasp, and the Bledisloe Cup with his teammates next door, the significance of that moment was clearly beginning to sink in.
Roigard wasn’t just an All Black; the rising star had also shown plenty of promise during an impressive debut – he did the jersey justice.
But the halfback hasn’t been called upon since by All Blacks selectors – well, until now.
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The All Blacks have named their side to take on South Africa, with Roigard set to provide impact off the bench. Roigard was picked ahead of Blues halfback Finlay Christie, who started against the Wallabies in Dunedin.
“Cam’s only had one game with us so far,” coach Ian Foster told reporters. “He had about 18 minutes I think, something like that.
“I thought he played well, he’s trained really well, so I really felt this was a great occasion for him to get a bit more time and experience so that we get to that starting line in France with all of our 9’s feeling good and up to speed so that’s really the strategy.
“I thought Fin did well in Dunedin. We put him in a starting role which he hasn’t done a lot of with us, so this is just another chance for us to have a look at another option.”
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The All Blacks have gone with a 6-2 split – six forwards and two backs – for Friday night’s clash with the defending Rugby World Cup champions.
Roigard will provide backline cover along with midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown.
Horses for courses. In some games having a steady-eddie presence and defensive organisation of Christie will be useful at the end of a match. In others, the running and kicking impact of Roigard will present an impact from the bench. Against the Springboks, the latter seems to be the tactic.
This is a non-issue. Christie will only be risked as a bench player in the pool minnow games. This is the reason his selection over Weber makes no sense. If either of Smith or Roigard goes down, Weber will be straight out and either starting or on the bench for the games that count. Christie is borderline Shayne Philpott territory. Razor wont be picking him next year. He will go with established combinations.
The best halfback in NZ is Bryn Hall, Webber is a great guy and would be a shoe in at six foot
About time!
For me , logical that Roigard must be 2nd after Smith.
Finlay never should have been in the squad. Weber must go for him.
Roigard will be the 1rst halfback in 2024 with Razor !
the webber D-Mac combo I felt could have proved vital if needed.
but I'm guessing they have christy BB combo as back up should it be needed