Former All Blacks playmaker Stephen Donald has predicted November will be the month that Cam Roigard shows the world just how good he is.
New Zealand face Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales over successive weekends on their Grand Slam tour.
Roigard will likely take the scrum-half reins for the majority of those games having established himself as their first choice nine.
Despite his impressive international performances, the 24-year-old remains relatively inexperienced at Test level and fans in the north have not been consistently exposed to his quality.
Injury issues
In last year’s Autumn Nations Series, he was only only just returning from a long-term injury and came off the bench against England and Ireland before starting the France and Italy matches.
Roigard has also endured the odd injury issue in 2025, missing the start of the Rugby Championship, but he returned for the Bledisloe Cup and starred in the victories over the Wallabies.
Donald was asked which All Blacks player would have the ‘the tour of his life’ in the end-of-year series and the ex-fly-half responded: “It’s Cam Roigard.
“He wasn’t there fully [last year]. The microscope that goes on the All Blacks when they go on these end-of-year tours, it will be huge for the brand of Cam Roigard,” he added on The Aftermatch with Kirst and Beav.
“He goes out there and he announces himself. He’s still in a position to announce himself to the world and I think this will be the time he does.
“You’re a bit out of sight, out of mind to the northern eyes down here, but I think he goes up there and he announces himself properly.”
Battle for number one
The All Blacks go into the November internationals in second place in the World Rugby rankings with a heavy home defeat to the Springboks knocking them off top spot.
If Scott Robertson’s side are to return to the summit then they will have to rely on the northern hemisphere teams doing them a favour, but Donald can’t see that happening.
“That’s a nice tour [for the Springboks] because for every big game there’s probably a weaker game the following week,” he said, with South Africa facing Japan, France, Italy, Ireland and Wales.
“You would imagine they go unbeaten. France is going to be a blockbuster at the Stade de France, it’s going to be fever pitch there.
“Of course that’s the quarter-final rematch, a controversial one that one was too, but it’s a nice schedule because you get to play some shots – to use a cricket analogy – against the Japan, Italy and Wales of this world.
“It’s a nice tour and it’s one that I don’t think will trouble them a whole lot – I think they will go five from five. But must view is week two, South Africa-France, that will be something special.”
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