Damian McKenzie: 'I've always been one of the smallest people on the field'

All Blacks pivot Damian McKenzie, all 177 cm and 81 kg of him, may not be the rugby player you would construct in a lab if you had the chance, but he has proven to be one of the most consistent and resilient players on the planet.

The 31-year-old has played every single Test since New Zealand faced Namibia in round 2 of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. That’s 42 consecutive games. No drop in form, no injuries, no rest weeks.

The All Blacks have had three head coaches in that span, but none could overlook McKenzie’s mercurial talent, though each has deployed it differently. Sometimes a supersub, sometimes the game-driver, sometimes the X-factor in the backfield, McKenzie has served all roles and kept earning selection as the team changes around him.

Coming into a showdown with Wales after three successive starts at No.10, McKenzie’s positional fate is, once again, up in the air. Richie Mo’unga has been cleared to play in the Cardiff Test, leaving selectors with a decision to make.

But while the number on his back is in question, McKenzie’s availability and reliability aren’t.

“I’ve always been one of the smallest people on the field, and I always kind of see that as a bit of a challenge and an opportunity. Regardless of how big or small you are, you can always play at the highest of levels,” the Chiefs star said on this week’s episode of the All Blacks’ Inside The Black Jersey podcast.

“It’s a shame Spuddy (podcast co-host Brad Weber) isn’t on; we’ve played a lot of rugby together, two pretty small guys, but I feel like we always try and put our bodies on the line for the team.

“It might be that good milk from down in Southland growing up. But yeah, I’ve got to see it as a challenge, and always just try to do whatever’s best for the team, and whether that’s playing, not playing, setting the boys up, and just being available and ready to go when need be.”

Regardless of who wears No.10 against Wales, McKenzie says the All Blacks machine is purring with a number of leaders across the team working together to make everyone’s jobs easier.

“To have Baz (Beauden Barrett) out there with his experience, he’s played a lot of rugby and Test rugby at first-five. So he gives a lot of information on what he’s seeing out in the wider channels, and you’ve got Jordie (Barrett) feeding back info as well.

“And then Toups (Tupou Vaa’i) is leading our line out, and you’ve got to give credit to Toups; a couple of calls on the weekend where, when it gets into the last 22 to try line, I think he sort of takes over if he feels something’s on, and you know, he’s doing a great job around calling what he thinks is best at the time. And as we saw on the weekend, we were able to score a few set-piece tries, and he was a big part of that.

“So we had a good combination between – you look at league and they call it the spine around your hookers, your lineout callers, your nines, 10s, fifteens. So everyone’s feeding back information, which helps my job as well when I’m playing 10, because sometimes you miss things that others might see. So, I’m very fortunate with those guys helping out.”