The fact that Cam Roigard has been one of the most talked about All Blacks of the last three tests despite not playing in two of them speaks volumes about his importance. Not only did the halfback score the match sealing try in the 75th minute of the All Blacks' 33-24 win over the Wallabies, arguably the more remarkable fact that he was still on the field at all.
Roigard fractured his foot during the French series and had only played a handful of minutes in Counties-Manukau's big NPC win over Auckland last weekend. So he admitted feeling a little bit surprised when he realised deep into the game that he wasn't getting replaced any time soon.
"I don't think that was planned. I don't know exactly what the plan was, but I did have a glimpse over at the bench and saw Tezzy (Cortez Ratima) was still sitting down. So I knew I was in for the long haul," said Roigard after helping lift the Bledisloe Cup for the 23rd season in a row.
Cam Roigard and Simon Parker with the Bledisloe Cup. Photo: ActionPress
Roigard's late try came off some slick hands from Jordie Barrett and replacement Quinn Tupaea, who had Will Jordan on his outside.
"I'm glad he looked over both shoulders and went inside. It was cool to look up and see all the home fans cheering. It was pretty special, I was pretty pumped," Roigard said.
"I might get a bit of grief from the boys for throwing the ball away. Once I scored, I was a bit panic stations because I couldn't find the ball boy."
Roigard also crossed in the first half to give the All Blacks a 20-3 lead, before the Wallabies mounted a serious comeback to get within two points. However, a great deal of the Australian momentum was killed off when he blasted a timely 50/22 in the second half.
"Credit to Aussies, we knew that they were battle-hardened, Joe Schmidt's had a massive influence and they're a team that doesn't fold under pressure…we started well and then they were able to grind their way back," said Roigard, who spent most of his evening marking impressive Wallaby debutant Ryan Lonergan after Tate McDermott was forced from the field with injury.
It was an impressive finish to the game for the All Blacks, who have had their troubles scoring late in games, but found a way much like their win against the Springboks at Eden Park three weeks ago.
Cam Roigard scores against the Wallabies. Photo: ActionPress
"It was awesome to be back. There are moments like that you can't quite replace, moments you dream of," said Roigard, who now stands as an integral part of Scott Robertson's plans for the next few years.
The All Black coach kept it brief when assessing Roigard's performance, simply saying that his halfback was a "quality athlete…a quality rugby player as well".
That was more or less all that needed to be said, as Robertson didn't have to add much after the commanding performance by Roigard on the field.
While the Bledisloe Cup is now safe, the two teams have plenty to play for next weekend in Perth, in a fixture that will help decide this year's intriguing Rugby Championship competition.
