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Ian Foster praises Cam Roigard after ‘impressive’ start to All Blacks career

Cam Roigard of New Zealand breaks clear with the ball to score the team's first try during the Summer International match between New Zealand All Blacks v South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on August 25, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

When the full-time siren sounded at Twickenham on Friday night, the All Blacks didn’t have a lot to smile about. They’d lost, badly, to their arch-rivals South Africa.

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Playing in front of more than 80,000 people in London, the Springboks made a statement ahead of next month’s Rugby World Cup with a 35-7 win.

But there was one shining light for the New Zealanders on one of the darkest days in the history of the All Blacks. Cam Roigard was simply sensational off the bench.

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The two-Test All Black made his debut in front of almost 84,000 people at the world-famous MCG in Australia last month, but hasn’t been called upon by coach Foster since.

But back in black to play the Boks, Roigard didn’t look out of place. The rising star appears more than ready to shine at the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

Roigard is made for the big stage.

The All Blacks were beaten in all facets of the Test on Friday, but the replacement helped breathe new life into an underperforming side late in the piece.

Roigard, 22, helped the All Blacks avoid the dreaded ‘naught’ by scoring a brilliant solo try. The electric No. 22 created something special out of nothing.

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The rising star made another half-break or two before the Test was done, and was both reliable and quick with his passing game as well.

Roigard is certainly a player to watch at the World Cup.

“I think he’s been impressive the way he’s trained and we said we just really wanted to get him on the park again,” coach Ian Foster told reporters on Saturday.

“We’re impressed with him at the MCG and enjoyed his training and I thought he came in really calm.

“There was a lot of young players on the park in that second half and it wasn’t easy for them to get the cohesion that they wanted but I thought he looked really calm and did what he does well.”

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1 Comment
D
Driss 669 days ago

He will be the 9 for all blacks and surely for razor. Smith can go . There are depth in 9 : Roigard ratima Fakatava Noham …

Maybe problem in 10 without Richie next year but there are youngers : Morgan burke McMillan kehanna love..

And McKenzie will stay .

Scott Robertson is a specialist to rebuild teams and a strong pack.

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SK 1 hour ago
Springboks in need of a rebuild with prop stocks depleted

Asenathi Ntlabakanye is quite possibly the most exciting front ranker of the lot. He has been training hard since the Lions were dumped out of the URC and I expect he will feature prominently this year. His impact in both the tight and loose play for the Lions has been great and is one of the most improved SA players in the last 2 years in the URC. What is clear is that Malherbe is now far too injury prone to be considered reliable and his International career could end soon. Also the loss of Kitshoff is big but manageable as he didnt feature after the World Cup and the Boks have had to move on from him. Steenekamp being unavailable is a blow as Wessels does not have experience and is a hybrid player who is also effective as a prop however this is international rugby and hybrid players can get exposed. Wessels and Louw also struggled against Leinster in the URC final. I dont rate Boan Venter and I think many would have preferred a local prop but then the options locally are also not experienced enough. So loosehead is a problem. Dutoit may yet find himself playing both sides this year while Louw, Koch and Ntlabakanye cover the tighthead position. As unfortunate as it is that Malherbe is injured he is not likely to make 2027 given his injury problems. It may just be a blessing in disguise that the Boks have to blood new players now.

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