Roigard wary of ‘fast’ Bok scrumhalves ahead of Ellis Park Test

All Blacks scrumhalf Cam Roigard is expecting a bag full of tricks from the Springboks’ scrumhalves when the two sides square off in the opening Test of the Greatest Rivalry at Ellis Park.

Roigard, who will face the Boks for the first time on South African soil, returns to the All Blacks’ starting lineup after recovering from a calf injury.

The injury kept him out in the early stages of the tour, and he missed out on the Stormers, Sharks, and Bulls warm-up matches.

The explosive scrumhalf has faced the Boks only once before at Twickenham Stadium in that 7-35 loss before the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

A year later, he missed out on both Rugby Championship clashes in South Africa and was also ruled out for the New Zealand leg in 2025 due to injury.

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“It’s a pretty awesome opportunity to finally play them at their home,” he told reporters in Johannesburg this week.

“I missed the opportunity in 2024 because of injury and then didn’t get to play last year in New Zealand because of injury again.

“So, I’ve been waiting a few years for this opportunity, and to be able to take it on Saturday, I’m just massively excited, and I think that’s the whole feeling around the camp.”

Roigard will come up against Grant Williams, who’s been named to start for the Springboks with Cobus Reinach providing cover from the bench.

As much as there’s been talk about contrasting styles between the two teams, the playing styles of the scrumhalves are likely to be very similar.

They both have incredible ruck speed, box kick well, and can turn the tide of a game in an instant. Roigard identified some of the threats posed by both Williams and Reinach.

“They’re just athletic, and they’re pretty fast,” he told Rugby365.

“They will back themselves when they see half a gap as well. Probably not so much for me being aware of that but our forwards as well.

“If they get quick ball and they get a corner clean, they’ll be straight through. Even off scrums and that, we’ve got to be aware.”

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Roigard also revealed that the All Blacks have a plan to combat South Africa’s box-kicking strategy.

“Their strength is obviously their kicking, so if they have a strong platform to put contestable kicks up, then it’s going to put us under a lot of pressure as well.

“We’ve got a plan to hopefully negate that as much as possible. But I guess the nature of playing the Springboks and playing at this level is you’re going up against the best.

“They’re both top-quality players, it’s just pretty exciting to be able to go up against them.”

The All Blacks, all week long, have been talking up their game plan and desire to play fast and outrun the Boks.

Since Dave Rennie took over, the Kiwis have shown more intent in their attack and have managed to break down teams and score a lot of points.

In their first three Tests of the year, they scored a combined 121 points and conceded just 70.

Roigard, however, knows the All Blacks will find it much tougher to score freely against the Boks.

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“You’re obviously not going to force opportunities, because then it’ll turn into the wrong one,” he said.

“But I feel like if we get our physicality right at the breakdown, then we can generate some fast balls, and there might be opportunities, whether it’s for myself or out wide.

“We’ve got solutions if we need to change our plan on the run. We’ve got a lot of experience throughout the team, one to 23.

“We’re going to be challenged in many ways on Saturday night, and I guess it’ll be whoever can adjust accordingly the quickest, and if it is playing what’s in front of you or changing the game plan on the run, then I feel like that will decide who will come out on top.”