All Blacks combination that sees future become present - Gregor Paul

Cam Roigard and Damian McKenzie showed at the World Cup they could be the future halfback and first five combination for the All Blacks. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

There were moments last year, some of them prolonged, when it was possible to get a good look at the future.

One of those opportunities came in Toulouse, where the All Blacks played Namibia and started the test with Cam Roigard and Damian McKenzie as their chief playmakers at halfback and first five-eighths.

Albeit Namibia were hardly heavyweights of the international game, there were times when Roigard and McKenzie combined so easily, neatly and effectively that it was impossible not to wonder what they could achieve together if given more time to develop.

They looked every inch the right combination for the All Blacks to promote in 2024 in the absence of the retired Aaron Smith and the Japan-based Richie Mo’unga.

They instinctively read one another, had an almost extrasensory ability to predict the other’s movements and intentions and everything they did was pulled off at frightening speed.

There’s no giant leap of the imagination required to believe that new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson will almost certainly have earmarked these two as his likely preferred pairing in jerseys nine and 10 when England arrive in July for two tests.

But what may come as a surprise is just how much potential these two have and how significantly Robertson and his coaching team are going to actively try to shape and nurture these two into the sort of dynamic force that the rest of the world just didn’t see coming in 2024.

Smith, when he first came into the All Blacks 12 years ago, proved to be a transformational player – the accuracy and length of his passing, plus his speed around the field, enabled the team to play at a higher tempo and straighten their attack.

Aaron Smith immediately became a vital cog in the All Blacks machine. Photo / Getty Images

His retirement came with a definite end-of-an-era vibe, as if the All Blacks were losing something so treasured and rare as to be almost irreplaceable.

But what may become apparent later this year is that the All Blacks are replacing one freakish, game-changing halfback with another and although vastly different in body shape and skillset, Roigard’s speed, size, athleticism and natural inkling for where space may lurk, could prove to be as transformational to the national team’s attack as Smith’s arrival was in 2012.

What Roigard offers is an element of unpredictability because his first instinct is to run – even if it’s just a few steps, he tends to move quickly enough and with enough purpose to create space around him.

Roigard has already provided strong evidence of his ability to destroy a defence with his running game – scoring as he did one of the great individual tries against South Africa in the final warm-up test before the World Cup.

He also turned up to the All Blacks fitness testing in early January in good enough condition to equal Beauden Barrett’s record for the infamous Bronco test, which not only signals he’s an athlete with high-speed endurance, but also that he’s driven, self-motivated, disciplined and unlikely to fall victim, as many others have done, to the dreaded second-season syndrome.

What will be most fascinating is how Robertson uses Roigard when he gets his hands on him in July.

Mostly the All Blacks asked Smith to pass as a first instinct on attack and on defence he was used in a sweeping role.

But given Roigard’s pace, his ability to see space and kick long, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him utilised in the backfield during test matches and to be encouraged to run, even just a few steps, before assessing whether to pass.

Certainly, Robertson and his coaching team will form various ideas during Super Rugby Pacific, conscious of how influential France’s halfback Antoine Dupont has become by being allowed a free reign to roam the field, while also stressing to Roigard that his primary goal during the competition is to tidy up his passing game and lose that propensity he showed at times last year to rush things at the expense of his accuracy.

And some of the thinking will be focused on how Roigard’s running game can be best utilised to bring the best out of McKenzie’s running game.

It’s rare for international teams to pair a running nine with a running 10 but the double-down factor is precisely what appeals about the Roigard-McKenzie combination.

Against Namibia, it was possible to see how the All Blacks could stretch and break the best defences by granting Roigard licence to take a few steps rather than follow the Smith blueprint of whipping the ball off the ground to the next receiver.

The difference in first actions may seem inconsequential but it tends to be significant and McKenzie relished playing alongside a halfback who did enough to change the shape and speed of the defence.

While he may not have Mo’unga’s experience and all-round tactical control, he’s a lethal runner when a bit of space has been created in the heavy traffic and if Roigard and McKenzie were the future last year, they are very much now the present.

Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and has written several books about sport.