All Blacks gun Cam Roigard has denied that he feigned an injury during the Hurricanes’ massive win over the Blues on Saturday, which sealed his side’s place in the Super Rugby finals.
Social media lit up early in the Hurricanes’ 57-21 win at the Cake Tin in Wellington after Roigard appeared to be injured after suffering a heavy blow.
Cam Roigard of the Hurricanes scores a try at Hnry Stadium. Hagen Hopkins
The star No.9 was clipped in the air by Beauden Barrett in the second minute and landed on his side.
But it was what came next that divided punters and players alike, as several players from both sides came in to check on Roigard’s health, including Barrett, only to see the rapid halfback spring to his feet and play on quickly from the penalty.
The decision surprised everyone, with Roigard’s 40-metre linebreak proving pivotal ahead of the opening try of the match less than a minute later.
The playacting was also straight out of the FIFA World Cup playbook.
Former All Black Mils Muliaina didn’t dance around the issue, immediately referencing it straight after Jordie Barrett’s try in the third minute.
“There will be plenty of talk around how this eventuated,” Muliaina said in commentary for Sky Sport.
“It was a penalty way back for being taken out; Roigard gets up after initially looking like he had been injured. Everyone is coming in and then play on here from the referee.”
Muliaina wasn’t wrong, with one well-known commenter on X saying, “Dear Cam Roigard, massive fan here brother, but this is football stuff not our game. Shame.”
But Roigard hit back on Sunday, saying on New Zealand radio that the instinctive moment came after checking that he had, indeed, come away from the fall unscathed.
“I was kind of waiting for that and making sure it was actually all good, because you just sort of never know when you fall funny,” Roigard told NewstalkZB.
Roigard, who is widely regarded as one of the best halfbacks in the world and expected to wear the No.9 jersey under Dave Rennie for the All Blacks, added that he never planned on quick tapping but realised that an opportunity to counter was on when everyone was grouped together in the middle of the field.
“I just got up and had a look and no-one was sort of there in the middle, and I thought ‘oh, I may as well just go,’” he said.
“I didn’t think I was milking it, but everyone is having a bit of a crack online, but it is what it is.”
Roigard added that Barrett might have been shown a yellow card if he had stayed down.
“To be fair, if I stayed down or didn’t take the quick tap, he [Barrett] might have got the [yellow] card anyway, so you know it’s not here nor there. But I don’t regret it. It is what is. It’s all footy.”
The Hurricanes will host the Chiefs – the runner’s up in the past three seasons – in Saturday’s final (5:05pm AEST).