Commentator weighs in on All Blacks No.10 debate ahead of final

Sky Sport commentator Tony Johnson has weighed in on this weekend’s matchup between Damian McKenzie and Ruben Love in the Super Rugby Pacific final.

The matchup between the likely starting first-fives could have a direct impact on who All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie selects as his first choice option for the first Nations Championship Test against France.

McKenzie, who brought up his 150th Chiefs appearance on Friday night, played a pivotal role in his side’s impressive 40-minute demolition of the Crusaders in the semi-final.

But the Hurricanes first-five has starred in the most in-form backline in Super Rugby Pacific, growing into his role as a primary game-driver alongside All Black teammates Jordie Barrett and Cameron Roigard.

Johnson, who commentated McKenzie’s outing against the Crusaders in Hamilton, said it was a real leader’s performance.

“I thought McKenzie had a Damian McKenzie game, on that form, and of course it’s a big if, but you’d think if he could play like that week in week out for the All Blacks, then maybe there wouldn’t be such a debate as we’ve been having all this time,” Johnson said on the DSPN Podcast with Martin Devlin.

“But that’s something that still has to be proven, his ability to produce that at test level, but I thought he was fantastic on Friday night.

“The switches of play, the subtle little delays of the pass, but also the variations in the kicking game, deft little chips through along the ground, or a couple that went in the air that they were able to regather constantly kept the Crusaders’ defence off balance.”

When asked about Love’s All Blacks chances, at least in the starting No.10 jersey, the experienced commentator believes the pecking order likely changes every week.

“Look, Ruben Love is such a talented player, and to me, quite clearly, they are one and two in the pecking order, now Beauden Barrett, you could argue, has perhaps suffered a bit because of the way the Blues have played this year, or the way their forms fallen away,” Johnson said on the DSPN.

“To me the one two right now is McKenzie, Love. Last week it might have been Love, Mackenzie, I don’t know, it’s hard not to chop and change with every performance.

“It might just might be one of those ones where how some tournaments in the sevens are worth double points or you get to the decider, does that almost effectively be worth double points in the eyes of the All Black selectors because it’s a big occasion or are they still more likely to look over the course of the season, or at least the second part of the season.

“You have to factor in that they know what these players are capable of, and so they don’t discard things that have happened in previous years, and even though you talk about a new group coming in with a new coach, new ideas, new thoughts, are still going to be mindful of what players have achieved in the past.”

“That was a big disappointment on the tour last year, and the year before, would have loved to have seen him just get a bit more of an opportunity.

“A bit conservative with the way they handled him. Look, he’s a fantastic player, and he can bring a point of difference to a game. There’s still the odd little untidy bit, like a pass that might go out the back door, something like that, but there’s no question that the guy has got a real X factor about his play.

“I think the kicking game does come into it, because he’s got such good kickers either side of him, with Cam Roigard, who’s a fantastic kicker off that left boot, and Jordie Barrett’s been doing a fair bit of kicking as well, he’s got those two players, so you’ve got to have a good kicking game.”