Two common themes emerged from the All Blacks retaining the Bledisloe Cup: Cam Roigard’s world-class brilliance and the undisputable need for Scott Robertson’s men to grasp some form of consistency to convince they can rise to the occasion away from Eden Park comforts.
The most telling contribution from the All Blacks’ 33-24 victory over the Wallabies came from Roigard.
While the spotlight shone on the All Blacks’ collective character to respond from their heaviest defeat in history against the Springboks two weeks ago in Wellington, the halfback’s return stole the show.
It’s much more common for first five-eighths and loose forwards to hog headlines for the All Blacks but Roigard, after a mere 13 tests, is stating a strong case for this team’s most influential figure.
After the best part of two months on the sideline and one comeback game off the bench for Counties Manukau, Roigard didn’t miss a beat with a performance that included two tries, the last of which finally pushed the All Blacks beyond Joe Schmidt’s spirited Wallabies.
Roigard constantly threatened in his 75-minute return with regular snipes from the base.
His kicking game and support lines were equally prominent as he loomed up on Quinn Tupaea’s shoulder after a slick Jordie Barrett offload to finish the match-winning try.
“The role of the nine is the inside support line,” Roigard said.
“Jordie got a nice inside offload to Quinn. I’m just glad he looked over both shoulders and looked inside.
“It was cool to look up and see all the home fans cheering.
“I’ve only played a handful of tests at home so it was special. I was pretty pumped up.
“It’s awesome to be back. There’s moments like that you can’t quite replicate and you dream of. To retain the Bledisloe in front of our home fans. It doesn’t get much better.”
Roigard’s influence from the base was not lost on his teammates, with Will Jordan among those to praise his ability to slot straight back in.
“He’s a quality player. He’s a competitive man,” Jordan said.
“I know he’s been hurting being on the sidelines. He’s huge for us, the way he controls around the ruck, his kicking game, he takes the moment when it comes.
“To come back and play 75 minutes it was a huge shift and we needed it. I’m really happy for him.”
While Roigard and wing Leroy Carter were among those to impress, this wasn’t an entirely convincing performance from the All Blacks after they blew a 17-point first-half lead and allowed the Wallabies to close within two late in the second half to spark late nerves.
Those inconsistencies within games will keep the All Blacks on edge for next week’s rematch with the Wallabies in Perth, where the Rugby Championship title will remain up for grabs.
The All Blacks improved their wobbly set piece and shaky work under the high ball to ignite their attack and force the Wallabies into 39 missed tackles.
But Fraser McReight’s success at the breakdown, an overbearing and typically unpredictable performance from Italian referee Andrea Piardi, who blew 25 penalties, and the Wallabies’ ability to twice whittle down the All Blacks’ leads were enough for stand-in captain Ardie Savea to demand improvements.
“We wanted to put in a performance that restored some mana back in the jersey,” Savea said.
“We started this game really well but it’s credit to the Aussies – we knew they’re a great team at coming back and we let them in towards the end of the first half. That’s a test match. We were able to build points in the second half.
“The challenge now is embracing this win but then getting back on the horse and trying to go back-to-back.
“We can be better when we get a good lead around being ruthless. That’s on us. We’ve got to be hard on ourselves after this. We can’t sit on our laurels. We enjoy tonight but keep each other accountable.”
The All Blacks will count the cost of this victory with a lengthy casualty list. Wing Caleb Clarke re-injured the same ankle he had previously hurt; prop Ethan de Groot failed his head injury assessment (HIA) after clashing heads with lock Fabian Holland, lock Tupou Vaa’i damaged his knee and playmaker Beauden Barrett requires scans on the shoulder injury that left him in a sling.
The Wallabies, meanwhile, are expected to regain powerhouse forwards Will Skelton, Rob Valetini and first-choice playmaker Tom Lynagh for next week.
To this point, the All Blacks have failed to deliver any form of conviction they are genuinely progressing in this Rugby Championship.
After one step forward, one back, Robertson knows his All Blacks must break that cycle next week.
“The ultimate for every sports team is to be consistent,” the coach said.
“That’s what we need to do. There’s patches in matches we are unreal. You’re not always going to hit that but when it’s not going your way how do you get it back.
“It’s a great opportunity to get over to Perth. The story continues. It’s going to go right down to the last round for who wins the championship.
“That’s why test footy is in a beautiful place.”
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.