Super Rugby Pacific: Five takeaways from Hurricanes v Brumbies including more Cam Roigard hype

Dylan Coetzee
Super Rugby Pacific: Split with Roigard and Toole

Following the Hurricanes’ narrow 32-27 win over the Brumbies in Round 10 of Super Rugby Pacific, Planet Rugby looks at five takeaways from the action.

Hurricanes get the job done

It was not the prettiest performance from the New Zealand side, who should have had a more comfortable winning margin in the clash.

The Wellington side had 57% possession and dominated territory throughout the clash but regularly failed to make it count due to various reasons be it a handling error or poor decision-making.

The bottom line is that the side managed to get over the line even though things could have been different if the Brumbies had made more of their late surge.

The ‘Canes will take the four points and march on to the next round where they will travel to Fiji to face the Fijian Drua.

Cam Roigard has been learning from TJ Perenara

The scrum-half has been sensational all season long and once again showed his quality. He impressively scored his seventh try of the season – only one behind the league leader Shaun Stevenson.

Roigard has clearly been learning from Perenara and has developed brilliant awareness around the base of the ruck. The star has a natural affinity for scoring, and learning from his veteran teammate bodes well as Perenara is only a few tries off the all-time record in Super Rugby.

The 22-year-old’s prolific nature offers something different and could prove valuable for his international prospects as his career develops. Having a natural try-scorer at scrum-half is an asset to any side.

Roigard is a very impressive talent and one who is absolutely sparkling with each touch of the ball.

Asafo Aumua underlines his quality

The robust hooker was probably the Hurricanes‘ best player and issued a reminder of just how good he is.

Aumua made a mind-blowing 96 metres with ball in hand, broke the line twice, beat four defenders and assisted Ardie Savea’s try in a blockbuster performance. In the set-piece he completed 12 line-out throws and looked solid in that regard.

His running game is a true sight to behold and busy performances like this could well throw him in the All Blacks mix for at least the Scott Robertson era.

His only work-on is defence as he missed three tackles to his three completed which will have to improve if he is to consistently compete for the All Blacks jersey.

Brumbies are close to being a complete side

The Canberra men take home a point from the clash that they possibly could have won. Things did not always go their way but the side showed some solid grit and character to never be completely out of the contest.

In the first half, it was two counter-attack tries that were relatively uncharacteristic but kept them in the game. Their defensive structures did force some errors from the hosts, but Stephen Larkham’s men were guilty of switching off in key moments as they did for Savea’s try.

In the second period, they scored through a maul try – one of their great strengths – and looked to be climbing back into the game but could not seem to string enough phases together to break down the hosts.

This team could have won this game if they were marshalled around the park a bit better and if they broke down the game into a more stop-start affair to disrupt the Hurricanes flow.

When the half-backs can play with more synergy and control this team could be deadly.

Corey Toole has impressive potential

A huge positive from this game and the season so far is the potential of Toole. The wing is genuinely one of the fastest players on the planet right now and he knows it. He was fantastic today and backed his pace every time.

The first try for the Brumbies came off the back of Toole turning on the afterburners in the outside channel. He scored one of his own as he left Savea for dead and crossed in the left-hand corner.

This could be the tip of the iceberg for the former sevens star who very clearly knows how to beat defenders. Keep an eye on Toole, who has Wallaby written all over him, maybe not now but soon.

READ MORE: Brumbies lock Nick Frost shows STAGGERING pace for 80-metre solo try in defeat to Hurricanes