Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw defends decision to sub Cam Roigard before extra time loss to Chiefs

Tuesday, 21 April 2026

Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw has defended his call to replace star halfback Cam Roigard in extra time after an agonising 22-17 loss to the Chiefs.

The defeat snapped a five-game winning run and lifted the Chiefs above the Hurricanes on the table, although the Wellington side still have a game in hand.

Roigard was subbed for Ere Enari at the start of Super Point with the score locked at 17-17, having played the full 80 minutes.

The call raised eyebrows given his influence, and quickly became a major talking point when Chiefs loose forward Wallace Sititi beat Enari to a loose ball to score the match-winner after Damian McKenzie’s drop-goal attempt was partially charged down.

“What a moment this is, taking off probably the game’s best player,” former All Black Stephen Donald noted on the Sky Sport broadcast.

The Chiefs had earlier fought back from 17-10 down to force extra time, eventually sealing victory after former Hurricanes winger Dan Sinkinson levelled the scores with seven minutes remaining.

Speaking on Tuesday, Laidlaw stood by the decision to replace one of his All Blacks at a crucial stage, saying fresh legs were needed in extra time despite Roigard’s renowned fitness.

“Fresh legs,” Laidlaw explained. “We just thought if there was a ball movement in the game, Ere is an outstanding defender, probably the best defensive 9 in the club, and we felt his fresh legs would help.

“We reviewed all the substitutions yesterday morning and all the coaches were still in agreement, we probably made the right decision. There’s definitely ‘Captain Hindsight’ there, Cam might have ran 50 or 60 metres and scored a try, but he also might not have. I’m not losing any sleep over that change.”

Prop Pasilio Tosi said the side’s collapse was a collective failure, with all 23 players named in the match-day squad expected to contribute on the field.

“From 1 to 23, we’re all leaders. The coaches pick us and trust us to be in the team. Everyone should be able to get on the field and express themselves and their talents,” Tosi said.

“When Cam comes off and Ere comes on, he’s an unreal halfback and he shows that he can get physical and has good ball skills. It’s the same when Dupes [co-captain Du’Plessis Kirifi] came off and was replaced by Brayden [Iose]. He’s a quality No 8.

“On Saturday, everything just went the Chiefs way and the better team won. I don’t think it was a lack of leadership on the field. We just need to play better footy.”

Warner Dearns almost prevented the decisive moment when he partially charged down McKenzie’s drop-goal attempt, only for Sititi to react fastest.

The 2.03m lock revealed the kick had struck his head, explaining the ball’s awkward bounce.

“It was not much fun. The team obviously didn’t want to be in that position. We defended well for a few phases and they were working their way towards the goal posts so there was only one thing they were going to do,” Dearns said.

“I saw D-Mac out the back and thought ‘I’m a chance here’. It actually came off my forehead, it’s why it went up, and Wallace was just in a good spot, he saw the ball, tracked it early and got up over the guys who were around it.

“It was a pretty gutting way to finish.”

Laidlaw tipped his hat to the Chiefs, acknowledging “they were slightly better than us at the end.”

The teams are now level on 31 points, with the Hurricanes holding a game in hand ahead of their Super Round clash against the Brumbies at the new One New Zealand Stadium Christchurch on Saturday evening.

“On other days you charge down a kick and it goes to one of your guys. We had three charged downs during the game and none of them went into our hands,” rued Laidlaw.

“That’s the fine line but we definitely feel like we could be better around taking our opportunities.”