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Beauden Barrett injury a blessing for Damian McKenzie and All Blacks playmakers with plenty to prove
Come the end of the 2018 test season, Damian McKenzie was in the driver’s seat to wear the No. 15 jersey at the 2019 World Cup. Almost two years later, McKenzie is now tasked with simply trying to reclaim a spot in the matchday 23.
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When Ian Foster named his squad for the opening Bledisloe Cup match of the year, few were surprised at McKenzie’s omission.
The 25-year-old had spent the majority of 2019 recovering from a ruptured ACL suffered during the Chiefs’ Super Rugby campaign and wasn’t yet back to his old self during this year’s Super competition.
Perhaps if the All Blacks weren’t quite so blessed with riches in the outside backs, McKenzie may have had a look in. As it stands, however, Will Jordan and Beauden and Jordie Barrett all outplayed the Chief during Super Rugby Aotearoa and the once-incumbent now has a massive challenge on his hands.
Beauden Barrett’s minor ACL strain has rocketed McKenzie straight back into the starting XV, with Jordie Barrett to remain on the right wing. The uncapped Jordan, meanwhile, will have to wait at least another week for his test debut.
McKenzie won’t need to be told that a big game is required – he always plays at a million miles a minute and never takes his foot of the gas regardless of what’s on the line.
And while he may not have stood out quite like the Barretts during Super Rugby Aotearoa, his form for Waikato during the opening two rounds of the Mitre 10 Cup should reassure any sceptics that the pocket rocket is 100% fit and ready for play.
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In fact, McKenzie remains the second top points scorer in this year’s competition, just behind Bryn Gatland, despite having played in only two of Waikato’s five matches.
But that all counts for nought on Sunday afternoon, when McKenzie will don the black jersey for the first time since November 2018.
The fullback brings a unique skillset back into the All Blacks fold. While he’s perhaps not quite as suited for playing the structured game as Richie Mo’unga or Beauden Barrett, he still possesses the incredible X-factor that was sorely missed by New Zealand in last year’s semi-final loss to England.
On that 2018 end of year tour, McKenzie was the only player that seriously threatened the English and Irish defence. His try in dire conditions was enough for the All Blacks to nab a win over England, but even he wasn’t enough on his own to get his team across the line against a fierce Irish side.
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And although McKenzie may not be quite as reliable as Jordie Barrett in the fullback position, he’s spent enough time at first five to operate as a genuine second playmaker on the park and should take some of the pressure off Richie Mo’unga.
It will be the first time that Mo’unga and McKenzie have started a match together for the All Blacks and Foster will be interested to see how the pair work together to get the All Blacks ticking. It will also be the first time that Mo’unga has started a test against a tier one team without Beauden Barrett backing him up from fullback.
The Cantabrian has grown more impressive with every season of professional rugby under his belt, however, and Foster will be confident that the Super Rugby Aotearoa title winner can guide the All Blacks around the park.
With McKenzie and Jordie Barrett also on deck, offering plenty of advice, Mo’unga won’t be short of playmaking options ready to step in and fill the first receiver position should he need a quick break from the action.
Barrett, of course, has been criticised in the past for his decision making – but few could have found fault with his performances throughout Super Rugby Aotearoa.
2020 marks the start of a new era of All Blacks rugby. With Ian Foster taking over as head coach, he still has plenty of time to make a call on the playmaking structure of his backline. Damian McKenzie, Jordie Barrett and Richie Mo’unga all have plenty to prove in the first Bledisloe Cup match of the year.
Comments on RugbyPass
You probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
12 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
1 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
1 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
16 Go to comments