All Blacks boss Scott Robertson has explained the decision to remove Cameron Roigard early in the second half of the defeat to England.
The world-class scrum-half was hooked from proceedings in the 44th minute of the game, shortly after England hit the lead after New Zealand led 11-12 at half-time.
Roigard was influential in the All Blacks‘ surge to a 12-0 lead with a stunning 50:22 leading to a try while the livewire number nine controlled the tempo well.
This only fuelled the confusion when he was replaced by Cortez Ratima so early after the break. The All Blacks would lose further momentum with Fraser Dingwall grabbing England’s third before the hour mark as Steve Borthwick’s side went on to claim a 33-19 victory, their 10th straight win.
Why Roigard was hooked
Asked about the substitution decision after the match, the head coach explained that the number nine was on the wrong end of a few hard hits as was his half-back partner, Beauden Barrett.
“We got banged up pretty early and we were just trying to get through as long as we possibly could,” Robertson told Sky Sports NZ.
“Cam copped one and Beaudy on the leg, there was a lot of… it was obviously really, really physical and the momentum swung on a couple of injuries.
“But we got ourselves back into it, you know, that’s what we are really proud of. They are a good team, and the fans start singing that song and getting behind them. It was a great moment. I’d like to congratulate Steve Borthwick and his group – it was a big moment for them.”
In the post-match press conference, he provided further clarity.
“He limped off. That maul came back and squashed his ankle, as you saw he was pretty strapped up after half-time,” he said.
“He tried to run it out but wasn’t even running. So, that’s wasn’t even an option so Cortez came on. We got a few bangs early in the piece. We had to make changes that we wanted to leave to the end, but that’s footy.”
Robertson rued the All Blacks’ lack of ruthlessness overall with Barrett missing a couple of penalty kicks to touch and fundamental issues.
“We had opportunities, we started playing the way we wanted to with really good structure and then we had a couple of kicks for the corner, a couple of fundamental things that we didn’t do that well,” he added.
“And they came back and got momentum off a couple of drop goals and the yellow card after halftime and the game changed a little bit.”
On the result, he added: “Grand Slams are tough. They are incredibly tough. It’s hard to do. We are just so disappointed. We put everything on it. There will be a lot of emotional people in the changing room.”
Captain Scott Barrett remarked, “We had our opportunities, particularly in the first half.
“We got away to a handy lead but we didn’t quite find touch there, and England ground their way back into the game. George Ford had a blinder and they just kept accumulating points and they took their opportunities.”