Cam Roigard’s return to All Blacks starting line-up is ‘not a forgone conclusion’ – ex-Crusaders star
All Blacks scrum-half Cam Roigard and ex-Crusaders number nine Bryn Hall.
Cortez Ratima’s current excellent form for the All Blacks will make it hard for Cam Roigard to get back into the three-time world champions’ starting line-up when he returns from injury.
That is the word from former Crusaders scrum-half Bryn Hall after Ratima walked off with the official man-of-the-match award in New Zealand’s Bledisloe Cup win over Australia in Sydney on Saturday.
It was only Ratima‘s second start at Test level after he also caught the eye with an impressive performance in a losing cause against the Springboks in Cape Town earlier in the month.
Roigard recovering after a serious injury
Meanwhile, Roigard, who was one of the All Blacks‘ breakout stars in 2023, is on the road to recovery after rupturing his left patella tendon during the Hurricanes’ victory over the Highlanders in round six of Super Rugby Pacific.
Roigard was one of three scrum-halves named in the All Blacks squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup and caught the eye with some fine performances at the global showpiece.
After veteran scrum-half Aaron Smith’s retirement at the end of 2023, Roigard was in line to become the All Blacks’ first-choice number nine under incoming head coach Scott Robertson.
However, his world came crashing down when he sustained his injury after some fine performances for the Hurricanes although he is expected to return to action before the end of 2024 which means he could be included in the All Blacks’ squad for their end-of-year tour to Europe.
And following the emergence of Chiefs number nine Ratima, Hall believes it will be difficult for Roigard to cement his place in the All Blacks’ run-on side when he returns to action.
“The way that Cortez is playing it’s very hard to be able to say let’s be able to put Cam in there straight away now,” he told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“I think Cam is going to get an opportunity just with how good he is and he will get an opportunity on the end of the year but what it has done it’s not just like a foregone conclusion that Roigard was going to be the number one because of how Cortez is playing.
‘It’s going to be a very good battle’
“So, I think it’s going to be a very good battle. I think it’s going to be a very good battle for the next World Cup cycle and this will just be the first step, the first part of these two being able to go hammer and tongs for whoever’s going to get that starting point.
“But with how Cortez is playing, geez for a kid that is at his age, his debut season, very very impressive.
“Now his support line is great, his defence is great, his communication is great but what I’m really enjoying, especially at a young kid’s age, is the execution of his box kicks.
His box kicks were right on the money in terms of being in that contest and even his long and outs were very good on the weekend as well. So in terms of your core skills, and I know Scott Hansen will be very good in a round, he’s very hard on your run, pass, kick.”
Despite Ratima’s outstanding form, Hall said he is looking forward to Roigard’s return as he made a big impact with his style of play in 2023.
“I look forward to seeing Cam because he is something different,” he added. “We’ve talked that he has a possibility of that kind of Dupont kind of style with how he does play but it’s going to be a great battle.
“I’m really going to look forward to seeing their battle for the next couple of years.”
