At the back end of both tests, the All Blacks surged over top of the Boks to prove that their attacking-minded ball movement is tiring the huge South African forwards.
As the greatest rivalry series returns to Johannesburg for the third instalment this weekend, fatigue in the final quarter will be enhanced by the thin altitude air.
To make that count, though, to leave the Boks out on their feet gasping for breath, the All Blacks must first address their poor start last weekend in Cape Town.
The All Blacks can’t afford to allow the Boks to establish their favoured set-piece platform, to impose their route one power carrying and fuel their rabid crowd.
Another sluggish, inaccurate start will leave the All Blacks too much ground to chase and render their last quarter advantage irrelevant.
“We spoke about trying to start well and we did the opposite,” Roigard reflected with the Herald in Cape Town. “It’s always hard when you’re chasing the scoreboard. We’re excited to hopefully right a wrong from a pretty average performance from our expectations.”
The shaky lineout, ongoing high ball issues, and wasteful kicking in the first half are other improvements the All Blacks must make but weathering the Boks’ early onslaught sits high among their priorities.
Absorbing the opening salvo, preferably not from the ropes, either, is easier said than done.
From the daredevil flyovers to packed stadiums, vocal fans and the frothing Boks, rugby atmospheres don’t get more hostile than these.
“A lot of it is the mental side and trying to be present. It was pretty unique last weekend with the planes flying over. Right before kickoff, I thought they were going to crash into the stadium. It’s pretty hard to block that out. It all adds to the occasion. We talk about it so there’s no surprises.
“If we’re able to score points first or hold them off so it gets into that grudge match where we’re not chasing the game, that’s a good start.
“We want to keep the ball in play. Everything will be a lot tougher back at altitude. Everyone felt that. You feel like you’re not doing much but then you’re out of breath.
“They’re a massive, physical side. If we can match them at the start and take it to the later stages of the game where there is that element of fatigue, we see a lot of opportunity there. We’d like to think we’re the fitter side and hopefully outwork them. Hopefully this weekend we’re not chasing points and we’re in that area.
“Ultimately it comes down to how we start, our discipline and how we defend.”
Roigard’s area of expertise, the breakdown, was compromised in Cape Town as he endured a difficult night attempting to clear the ball amid tangled limbs.
While ball-in-play time was significantly higher compared to the first test, the Boks succeeded in slowing the All Blacks at the source to often stifle their desire to play at speed.
“I don’t know if it’s a tactic of theirs but they’re trying to put me and our game drivers on the ground, out of the game. If they’re doing that it’s pretty hard for us to play fast,” Roigard said.
“Sometimes I have to be smart and move the ball rather than looking for run opportunities early but as the fatigue comes in there’s a few opportunities for myself, Ruben [Love] or our game drivers to start sniping and having a crack.
“Last weekend it was slow ball, a lot of bodies in the way. It was a challenge. I tried to see if the referee was going to do anything about it but he felt like they were all good so we’ve got to adjust to that. Hopefully we can be a bit more brutal with our cleanouts and get some cleaner ball for us to play.”
When they shift through the backline with slick, quick hands to create space on the edges, the All Blacks attack has been lethal. Nine tries to four underlines their attacking success against the Boks.
As one team attempts to play at pace, and the other tries to impose their suffocating squeeze, another clash of styles awaits.
“We’ve got our strengths and how we want to play which is quite different to the South Africans. Credit to them, the way they scramble defensively and set their line quick it makes it tough to get momentum. Because they are so big, if we can move the ball it’s going to create opportunities and fatigue them so we can run later on.”
With the spotlight shining on Soweto, scene for the third test, there’s nowhere else Roigard would rather be.
Thirty years on from the All Blacks’ first series success in South Africa, the world-class halfback grasps the magnitude that this weekend entails. He’s determined to savour the occasion, and seize the moment.
“This tour, these games, were going to be the biggest of my career so far. I’ve played at a World Cup but the significance of the tour, the opportunity to win a series over here, and four games against the best team in the world, we don’t take that for granted.
“Seeing how tight the 1996 team are all these years later and the memories they’ve got from what they were able to achieve as a group, being able to live that is pretty cool.
“Ellis Park was a bucket list experience to be out there. Last weekend was even more so. You embrace it particularly when you feel like your back is against the wall and the whole stadium, bar a couple of hundred All Blacks fans, wants you to fail.
“Normally you’re hearing cheers when you score a try but here it’s silence. When it does get tight, you look to our leaders – Ardie [Savea], Jordie [Barrett] – and they have a look that says ‘we’ve got this’.
“That’s what makes the All Blacks jersey so special. Being part of big moments like these is where you add to the legacy. I love playing these big games. Hopefully we’ve got two more wins to get. We’re up for it.”
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.
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