Halfback worries but Canes set to re-sign Savea
Newly named All Blacks captain Ardie Savea will lead the Hurricanes again next year, coach Jason Holland says, pending some final details of his new deal.
But the halfback headache continues, with the newly signed Cam Roigard having suffered a shoulder injury which will likely require a replacement being summoned.
Savea is the only big name not yet signed with NZ Rugby and the Hurricanes for next year after Dane Coles, Jordie Barrett and TJ Perenara all committed to the Wellington side for 2022 and the new Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Holland is confident Savea, who is off contract at the end of this year and was named All Blacks captain for their Australian campaign, will be back at the helm at Sky Stadium next year.
‘‘He’s nearly over the line, we’re just waiting to cross the t’s and dot the i’s on the couple of things with New Zealand Rugby, but we’re expecting him to be there and leading us again,’’ Holland told Newstalk ZB.
While Perenara’s return from a season in Japan provides a significant boost to their inside back stocks, there remains uncertainty over the third No 9 in the squad.
Holland said Roigard, of Counties Manukau, was signed before the NPC season as their third halfback alongside Perenara and Jamie Booth. But after starting their NPC opener against Manawatu, Roigard suffered an
injury which could sideline him for some time.
‘‘We made a decision, and a couple of weeks ago we contracted Cam Roigard again. He won that race for that third spot, then two weeks later he popped his shoulder,’’ Holland said.
‘‘He’s a good young player who’s got a massive ceiling. He got our contract, but we’re probably going to be looking for a replacement. There’s obviously guys that we’re really confident can do the job for us, who will come into contention for that.’’
Fellow Steeler Jonathan Taumateine, and Bay of Plenty’s Luke Campbell, were both on the books this year but missed out to Roigard who was initially behind both in the pecking order.
With that pair having been told they weren’t required by the Hurricanes, talks may have begun with other teams which could make securing a replacement tricky. ‘‘We’ll see what everyone’s doing, but we’d be delighted to have them back,’’ Holland said.
Booth didn’t play any Super Rugby this year due to a broken leg suffered while playing for Manawatu¯ in last year’s NPC. After making his comeback in club rugby, Booth withdrew from the Turbos’ NPC campaign in recent weeks because he hadn’t fully recovered from the injury. Instead he started the season as an assistant to coach Peter Russell.
As of the end of Super Rugby Trans-Tasman in June, the Hurricanes had publicly announced 24 players on their books for next year and beyond, with Ardie Savea yet to put pen to paper.
That included new signings, prop Owen Franks, lock Dominic Bird and flanker Blake Gibson, while the first five-eighths on their books were Ruben Love, Jackson Garden-Bachop and youngster Aidan Morgan.