Scott Robertson talks halfback call as debutant named for Boks clash

This time last year, Kyle Preston was scoring tries for fun with Wellington in the NPC, but instead of building his game for the next Super Rugby season, it was a roofing gig that awaited the 25-year-old at the season’s end.

The Crusaders were one of the teams calling Preston’s number after the Lions’ dramatic NPC title win. Finally, with a full-time rugby contract on the table, he opted for a change of scenery.

In his rookie season in Christchurch, Preston emerged as a standout halfback with a rare ability to kick off both feet with superb accuracy. He contributed six tries, including a hat trick in his Crusaders debut, as his side claimed yet another Super Rugby title.

Fast forward a few months, and Preston’s rise has done anything but cease. An injury crisis at halfback in the national set-up revealed him as the fifth-choice halfback in the country, and saw him called in as injury cover for New Zealand’s mini-tour of Argentina.

Yet another injury in All Blacks camp has Preston set for an All Blacks debut off the bench, at Eden Park, against the Springboks, in one of the biggest Test matches in years.

All Blacks head coach named Preston in the No. 21 jersey for the Rugby Championship contest, and was asked what the halfback’s reaction was to hearing his name called in the team sheet.

“He’s a quiet young man, but he’s tough,” the coach told reporters in Auckland. “He was pretty humbled and shook everyone’s hand and downloaded it all.

“We got him in here for a reason. He probably didn’t quite think he was going to come in this game, but he does his core roles really, really well, and he’ll rise to the occasion.”

Both Cam Roigard and Noah Hotham are set for another three to four weeks on the sidelines with their respective injuries, and after early uncertainty about his fitness, Cortez Ratima’s “nasty little” rib injury has ruled him out of this weekend’s game.

Preston himself had an injury scare this week, with an ankle tweak reviewed by All Blacks medical staff before getting the all-clear.

The Test rookie will play back-up to Finlay Christie, who is set to wear the No. 9 jersey for the first time in 2025 after losing his place in the squad to Noah Hotham during the course of 2024.

For some, Christie’s opportunity in such a high-pressure Test at Eden Park evoked memories of Stephen Donald’s infamous 2011 Rugby World Cup call-up, when the first five dropped his whitebaiting gear to play in the World Cup final amidst an injury crisis at 10, only to kick what would be the winning penalty with a jersey that was a tad small.

Robertson found the comparison amusing when he was asked whether this was Christie’s ‘Stephen Donald moment’.

“His jersey fits,” the coach joked. “We’d love that. Look, Fin’s a Test match footballer and he’s played inside Beauden, so he’s good to go.”