Damian McKenzie hints at Super Rugby return

“Obviously it’s a big year and I’m solely focused on what’s happening here with this franchise. I’m going to be doing everything I can to be playing each week. If I have to sit out due to an issue, I’ll have to do that, but otherwise hopefully I can just keep rolling through.

“You’d rather be out there on the field playing – watching’s pretty tough.”

Watching from the sidelines during his side’s first up defeat was a difficult watch for McKenzie, who said his teammates took “a lot of learnings” from the encounter.

“Opportunities we could have made the most of a bit more often, and some good stuff as well. It wasn’t that fun watching from the stands, I will say.”

He will be able to provide a lot more experience should he start at first-five this weekend, taking over from the vastly inexperienced and out-of-position Orbyn Leger.

McKenzie said he had learned a lot from his debut campaign in the number 10 jersey, with tactical awareness and game management at the forefront of his mind throughout 2018.

“Last year was a massive learning curve as a 10,” he said.

“You’re the driver of the team, your game management’s got to be spot-on. I felt like I learnt a lot during the Super Season and then obviously being alongside two of the best 10s in the country, Beaudy [Beauden Barrett] and Richie [Mo’unga], I learnt a lot of them as well,” he said of time with the All Blacks, where fullback was his main role.

“For any Super team, the greater goal is to win a championship.

“We’ve got some really exciting young players coming through – I was pretty impressed by the new boys last week and how they stepped up.”

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