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From the master to the apprentice comes the ultimate endorsement. Aaron Smith set a blazing standard in the black No 9 jersey for over a decade, but even he’s excited about the young man now poised to take up his mantle.
That much was clear when Smith took some time during the All Blacks’ World Cup pool-stage hiatus in Bordeaux this week to extrapolate on his own anticipation surrounding team-mate Cam Roigard who’s now well and truly nipping at his heels in Ian Foster’s squad.
Smith almost certainly holds on to the 9 jumper for the pivotal pool clash against Italy next Saturday (NZT), and any defining contests to follow. Experience counts for a lot at this level, in this team, and the little maestro has that in spades with his 121 test caps (the most by an All Black back).
Loyalty too. The 34-year-old is playing in his third World Cup and though his powers have waned a little in his golden years, he remains a fierce competitor with a tracer-bullet pass, a reliable box kick and a special feel for the game.
It would be a big call to relegate Smith at this stage, even for a young comer who shines with potential, precision and power the way Roigard clearly does.
It’s more likely that Roigard, who has played just three tests, and only tucked away his first start in the 71-3 World Cup victory over Namibia in Toulouse a week back, now leapfrogs Finlay Christie as the impact man off the pine. Many believe he should have filled that role for the tournament opener against France, on the basis of a brilliant Super Rugby season with the Hurricanes and bright turns off the bench against the Wallabies in Melbourne and then South Africa at Twickenham.
His performance against Namibia evaporated any doubts over his youth. The former speedway driver from the Waikato is just 22 and it’s only this year, in the absence of TJ Perenara, that he’s been able to establish himself as a regular starter at the Canes (he had nine tries in 13 appearances in a breakthrough campaign).
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Cam Roigard looks like he has leapfrogged Finlay Christie into the key spot as Aaron Smith’s backup.
Toulouse was special. He had his first try against Namibia after just a minute, off Leicester Fainga’anuku’s classy offload; his second five minutes later when he had the wherewithal, and footwork, to convert a scrum turnover into five points; and before the half was over he had an assist to his name when he slipped away from a scrum and put halves mate Damian McKenzie in for the score.
This was running halfback play at its best. In the first 40 alone he gobbled up 45 metres, made a trio of clean breaks and slipped four tackles. Before he departed (for Smith) in the 66th minute he also put David Havili over to cap a player-of-the-match performance.
“There’s a lot to like,” a contemplative Smith told Stuff in Bordeaux when asked what he had made of his young team-mate’s first test start. “I thought he handled the game and those moments and even the conditions, with a slippery ball, very well. Watching as a fellow halfback, I was really impressed and just happy for him.
“He’s been working really hard the last four months to get an opportunity like that and to see him take it with two hands was great. You can feel the upshot of that even at training where there is genuine edge, genuine competition and that’s really good for the team. It keeps everyone on their toes. Nothing’s given; everything is earned.”
Then Smith dug a little deeper. With his practised halfback’s eye..
“As a 9 in our All Black attack system, it’s very much about moving the ball and playing at speed. Cam had two or three opportunities and he absolutely nailed them. He set up tries, created opportunities for himself and also got a few little offloads as well. It was cool to see him get over the line.”
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Aaron Smith on Roigard: ‘He handled the game, those moments and the conditions very well. I was impressed.’
It was defence coach Scott McLeod who wondered aloud the day after the Namibia game whether Roigard’s former sporting love helped him in the hurly-burly of the test rugby arena.
“He seems to have so much time on the ball for a young fella,” noted McLeod. “It almost goes in slow motion for him and he’s not rushed, makes really good decisions, executes in those moments and finds space and puts others in space around him. It showed with D-Mac’s try where he made that line-break, assessed what was happening and then just changed an angle – and away Damian went.
“I don’t know whether that’s due to his speedway experience and going fast with everything in danger moments. He looks quite comfortable.”
Smith didn’t know about the sporting correlation, but he’s sure about one thing: “He just sees the game a little bit differently. He sort of taxis out and has a look, and when you’ve got the physical gifts he has, those opportunities become big ones – line-breaks and offloads. His pure speed off the mark is impressive too and if anyone’s body shape is slipping, he punishes it. He’s big enough to win the contact as well.
“He’s got a lot of gifts, and it was good to see him using them.”
Foster clearly liked what he saw, even if he tempered it with a head coach’s caution.
“He had a pack in front of him that was giving him a platform, but he took his opportunities. It’s one thing to have good go-forward ball, but he made good decisions with that and he should be really proud. He cleared well. He didn’t have to kick a lot, but when did he was effective, and we saw the benefits of his running game. We’ve been really impressed with his growth.”
Roigard’s reaction in the wake of his debut start was also encouraging. He was measured, calm, nonplussed even. His feet remained firmly on terra firma. In short, he cooled the jets.
“My main focus was just doing my role, which is passing, speed to the ruck … the other stuff just unfolds naturally. I was given the confidence to trust my instincts and play what was in front of me, and that took the pressure off a bit,” he relfected.
In potentially a peek at the future, Roigard felt his halves combination with the electric McKenzie brought the best out in him.
“We all know how he likes to play with that attacking style, and that suits me. It’s awesome having people outside that want to pull the trigger and play running rugby.”
Roigard loved the big occasion, from the fanfare, to the stakes, to the quality all around him. He felt the quick strike settled him perfectly and soon he was lapping it up, like back in his days driving his saloon at Huntly. He had found his rhythm, and it was as though Ardie Savea’s “quiet assassin” was born to do this job.
Now, suddenly, Smith’s departure after this tournament to wind down his career in Japan does not seem quite so disruptive. The apprentice looks ready for a rapid promotion.
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