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Why Ardie Savea couldn’t be happier for ‘good old Cam’ Roigard
Halfback Cam Roigard will officially become an All Black on Saturday if he comes off the bench against the Wallabies at the world-famous Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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After beating world champions South Africa 35-20 in Auckland a fortnight ago, the All Blacks have named a relatively unchanged starting lineup to take on Australia.
Flanker Dalton Papali’i replaces usual captain Sam Cane at openside flanker, and No. 8 Ardie Savea takes up the leadership role for the Bledisloe Cup opener.
On a perfect day in Melbourne, and with the sun at his back, Savea spoke with a sea of reporters on the eve of this highly anticipated trans-Tasman derby.
Savea spoke confidently ahead of the match – and was even surprised by a passionate cheer from All Blacks fans on a boat sailing passed – and also smiled his way through the media scrum.
But Savea let out his biggest grin as he began to talk about debutant-to-be Cam Roigard. The pair are teammates in Super Rugby Pacific with the Hurricanes, and are set to rekindle their combination at Test level.
Roigard, who stepped into the No. 9 jersey at the Hurricanes in the absence of injured veteran TJ Perenara, was simply brilliant this season. Every week, the halfback seemed to get better and better.
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The 22-year-old was rewarded for his fine form with a call-up to the All Blacks last month, and has continued to chip away in training ahead of a potential debut.
That debut, at the time of writing, might only be just over 24 hours away.
Roigard was named on the bench as the sole debutant in the All Blacks’ matchday 23, and Savea couldn’t have been happier for “good old Cam.”
“I’m so happy for him,” Savea told reporters.
“He’s been a dude that’s kind of been in the background at the Canes and what you see on the field is the labour that he does away from the field. I’ve seen that in the last couple of years at the Canes.
“He’s just been given the opportunity the last two years to really shine his light and he has, and it’s kind of rewarded him being in the All Blacks and this week he gets that first opportunity to don the black jersey.
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“It’s special when you see someone, you’ve kind of been there from when they first came in… he’s a talented man, a man of few words.
“I’m excited for him and his family.”
The All Blacks have been pretty well perfect to start their Rugby Championship campaign, and can secure two pieces of silverware with a win over arch-rivals Australia this weekend.
As well as The Rugby Championship crown, the All Blacks can also lock up the prestigious Bledisloe Cup for another year. New Zealand has held the trophy for more than two decades.
But if the All Blacks fail to win this Test, then the two-match series heads to a decider at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium next weekend.
“It’s always important to look at the bigger picture,” Savea added. “In terms of what we want to achieve long term.
“But obviously you break it down and for us it’s week by week, and that’s the mantra we’ve been going for.
“This week is another great, big challenge for us, especially in Melbourne at the G, against an Aussie team that’s hurting. It’s going to be an interesting one but it’s going to be good.”
The All Blacks take on fierce rivals Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday night in the first of two Bledisloe Cup Tests.
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
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