All Blacks star stretchered off and taken to hospital after ‘serious injury’ in Hurricanes win

The Hurricanes made it six wins out of six in Super Rugby Pacific on Saturday but their victory over the Highlanders was marred by an injury to All Black Cam Roigard.

A 47-12 thumping of their New Zealand rivals at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin saw the ‘Canes run in seven tries in total, however the win was soured by Roigard’s injury.

The All Blacks number nine came off with what looked like a serious knee issue on 57 minutes, with the experienced TJ Perenara replacing him in the half-back position.

Concern for Roigard

Roigard had already crossed the whitewash for the ‘Canes with Xavier Numia, Peter Lakai, Asafo Aumua, Josh Moorby, Perenara and Justin Sangster also scoring tries.

It has since emerged that the injury could be a patella issue, which is a major concern for all parties as Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw spoke to media after the game.

“Injuries are part of the game,” he told Stuff. “It’s hugely disappointing for him, not just us.

“We’re not really sure what he’s done, but we’ll get that assessed.

“He went to hospital to get X-rays and get it checked, so we’ll find out tonight or tomorrow morning.

“It’s always a little bit sad to see one of your best players pick up what looks like a serious injury.

“…it’s maybe a patella tendon, but it takes a lot for for Cam to stay down. He’s a pretty tough bugger, so he was obviously sore.

“Hopefully it’s not as serious as it would look like.”

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For the Highlanders they sit in eighth position at the end of the week as they suffered a fourth defeat of the Super Rugby season, proving no match for the slick league leaders.

Their tries came through Folau Fakatava and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, but the latter’s early yellow card was costly as the Hurricanes crossed twice in that period.

In fact the card came when Roigard went agonisingly close to crossing for the game’s first try, with Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens subsequently killing that attack at the ruck.

The Hurricanes were dominant thereafter as prop Numia and flanker Lakai set them on their way to a big win that keeps them atop the Super Rugby pile for another week.

In contrast, derby woe has become an all too frequent experience for the Highlanders, as it is coming up to three years since they last defeated a fellow New Zealand outfit.

Both the Highlanders and Hurricanes will now enjoy a bye week where no doubt a good deal of medical attention will be given to the promising All Blacks scrum-half Roigard.

With arguably the country’s greatest ever number nine Aaron Smith having retired from Test rugby, Roigard was widely backed to step into the black shirt on a long-term basis.

Thank you all for your concern for our bro and team mate Cam. He’s currently being assessed by medical staff, we’ll keep you updated in due course. 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/ApF40BRfce

— Hurricanes Rugby (@Hurricanesrugby) March 30, 2024

The player, Hurricanes and All Blacks will be waiting anxiously on how the injury plays out in the coming days, with the Hurricanes giving a brief update in a post on X.

The Hurricanes return to action on Saturday, April 13 with a home meeting against the Chiefs while the Highlanders take on the Melbourne Rebels (away) on the same day.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks’ schedule for 2024 under new head coach Scott Robertson is set to begin on Saturday, July 6 against England at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

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