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Fit and firing Damian McKenzie looms as the pivotal man in Super Rugby Aotearoa opener

By Michael Pulman
Damian McKenzie. (Photos by Getty Images)

There is nothing quite like game week for Chiefs fullback Damian McKenzie as he reflects on putting in the hard yards during COVID-19 lockdown to ensure match readiness for Super Rugby Aotearoa.

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If their recent history against the Highlanders is any indication, the Chiefs should expect themselves to be involved in something of a humdinger when Super Rugby Aotearoa finally kicks off on Saturday.

For McKenzie, someone who is no stranger to performing under the spotlight, Saturday’s clash also provides the first real stress test of his intense fitness efforts during the lockdown period.

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Auckland Blues fly half Beauden Barrett speaks to media ahead of his teams Super Rugby Aotearoa clash with the Wellington Hurricanes.

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Auckland Blues fly half Beauden Barrett speaks to media ahead of his teams Super Rugby Aotearoa clash with the Wellington Hurricanes.

The same can be said for every athlete involved in this unique, New Zealand-only comp. But for the Chiefs, McKenzie is not just any athlete, he’s an integral part of how one of the most exciting backlines in Super Rugby operates.

Furthermore, the man holds himself to a standard representing such.

Talking to RugbyPass, McKenzie reflected on putting in the hard yards during lockdown in a bid to keep himself fit with a goal of maintaining the same level of performance which has seen him frequently play for the full 80-minutes in Super Rugby.

“I wanted to maintain the same level of fitness and strength otherwise you have to play catchup when you come back”, McKenzie said, “Right now I’m in pretty good nick but match fitness is a different thing so it will be pretty intense on Saturday night”.

During the lockdown, it was all about the runs down the road, time on the watt bike and working hard in the homebuilt gym for McKenzie. Alongside his good mate Anton Lienert-Brown, the two motivated each other to keep at it while fighting the boredom of being confined to the house.

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It’s all a showing that isn’t unfamiliar from McKenzie, his passion and commitment to the craft is matched by few.

On any given training day, McKenzie is typically one of the first to arrive and last to leave. Always staying back behind for an extra kick at goal or to practise his role in a specific set play, it’s clear that the finer details of every aspect in his control take the highest level of importance for McKenzie and it has been a great marker of his success since bursting onto the professional scene six years ago.

Since coming back into camp in mid-May, McKenzie impressed with a personal best on the bronco but Chiefs coaches were cautious not to let the team rush back into full intensity training too quickly.

The early focus was on seeing just where each player was at after the month-long lockdown period where individual fitness wasn’t monitored as closely. In that sense, it was every bit the same as your typical preseason.

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What is ahead will test the Chiefs, and their fellow four New Zealand franchise opponents, to their very limits with each game now coming close to matching test levels of intensity. That is by nature what the New Zealand derby-matches have become hailed as by the players themselves, and they’re by far the most popular choice for viewers.

For a leading cog in the Chiefs backline, McKenzie expects the brutal challenge ahead and says that it will be important to get straight into the recovery process shortly after the fulltime whistle each week.

“You’ve got to have the same mentality every week, the Kiwi derbies are tough and the most important thing is recovery so it will be important that as soon as we finish each game we recover really quickly because it’s straight into the next”.

Recent history against the Highlanders shows every bit the tight and gruelling physical affairs that New Zealand-derby matches have become known for in Super Rugby.

Who could forget last year’s dramatic draw in Dunedin or the Highlanders comeback victory with a man down to begin the 2019 comp? Those two classics alone were a solid advertisement for Super Rugby as it enters a new unique instalment.

Last Friday, an inter-squad hit out gave Chiefs coaches a good look at just where everyone was at a little over a week out from Super Rugby Aotearoa, and for the most part, everyone has come through injury-free.

Prior to the lockdown putting a red mark over the original 2020 season, things had been tracking well for the Chiefs, dropping just two of their six games and maintaining decent position on the ladder.

The lessons learnt from earlier in the year were primarily positive, namely how the gameplan Warren Gatland and co wanted to implement had been coming together nicely, but the biggest challenge had been how the Chiefs were starting games.

Often leaking a try or two early in most matches, the focus this time around for the Chiefs is ensuring they come out of the sheds as the team with a point to prove.

There is no better man, you sense, to ignite such a fire than McKenzie who tells of the importance behind senior players leading from the front.

“We want to set the tone by doing everything we can both on and off the field to be role models for the younger guys coming through but everyone is just so excited to be back training as a team and everyone is doing really well”.

But for the Highlanders clash at least, the Chiefs will have to do it without their skipper Sam Cane who revealed on Tuesday that he will sit out opening weekend due to a slightly stiff back.

Brad Weber is expected to take over the captaincy of the Chiefs when the squad is officially announced on Thursday.

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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