'Free, calm, and instinctive': The Damian McKenzie mentality

Damian McKenzie’s late-game heroics in Edinburgh, like his grin as he lined up the conversion for that acrobatic try, are the product of a mentality that prioritises freedom in one of the sports world’s most trying arenas.

Rugby fields can be unforgiving for undersized athletes, but McKenzie is one of the few in the Test scene achieving stardom at just 80kg. Never short on courage or resilience, what the Chiefs’ all-time leading points scorer lacks in bulk, he makes up for in outright skill, both physical and mental.

Sitting down with RugbyPass at the All Blacks‘ team hotel in Chicago last week, the 30-year-old broke down what makes him the player he is from a mentality point of view, and how that has shaped his growth as a player.

“I look back on the career I’ve had, and when you’re a young fella coming through, you’ve just got this air of freedom, and you’re just out there playing,” he explained. “I try to keep that mantra and mentality throughout my whole career.

“When you get a little older, your game matures a little more. Gilbert (Enoka) and Ceri (Evans), they really harp on about just being confident while you’re out there, and when you’re at your best, is when you’re instinctive and you’re free, and the game just flows.

“Obviously, you’ve got to prepare physically throughout the week, but the mental side of things is really important, and for me, I just try to be as free as possible and bring that out on the field.”

Enoka is the All Blacks’ former mental skills coach, having first joined the team in 2000, while Evans currently occupies that role. The influence Enoka had on the great All Blacks teams of the early 2010s, after the team struggled to manage the pressure of the Rugby World Cups of the 2000s, cannot be overstated.

Team Form

Last 5 Games

43 - 21

50 - 40

23 - 26

31 - 20

18 - 15

26 - 52

33 - 19

17 - 25

13 - 26

14 - 28

3

Wins

4

1

Streak

1

20

Tries Scored

21

-1

Points Difference

47

2/5

First Try

4/5

2/5

First Points

3/5

1/5

Race To 10 Points

4/5

The setting for this interview was an intriguing one, with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings in town to play the Chicago Bulls and staying in the same hotel.

World-class athletes from different corners of the globe wandering the same halls, all preparing to compete at the highest level their respective sports offer. Comparing the mentalities of the two sports brings a stark contrast: the NBA’s eccentricity, confidence, and bravado, vs. international rugby’s humility, gratitude and tradition.

“Being in America and watching the American sports, they really hype things up, which is fascinating, and it’s great to be here and experience that,” McKenzie said, having attended the Bulls’ showdown with the Atlanta Hawks earlier in the week. When asked about his own relationship with confidence, his reflections were assured and comfortable.

“For me, I wouldn’t say I’m an arrogant person whatsoever. I think it’s just having that level of confidence about yourself and about your game, and that’s when I’m at my best. When I’m not arrogant, I’m not walking around with my chest out; it’s more just being confident with what I’ve done so far in my career. And I guess the way you set yourself up is having a good week of training and just getting out there and playing.

“Just trying to be as confident as possible, and that makes you as free as possible as well.”

He again emphasised the importance of freedom when asked to summarise his mentality in three words.

“Free, calm and instinctive. That’s the ideal situation. With any professional sportsperson, that’s not always the case; you do go through moments where there’s a lot of pressure, you might have setbacks, or things might not go so well. But that’s when I’m at my best, I’m free, I’m calm, and I’m instinctive just playing what’s in front of me…

“I’ve always tried to play like that. There’s always a system or structure within the team, but I think when you’re at your best is when you just play what you see. There might be a call, but if you see something different, then I think the important thing is just backing yourself and trusting what you see.

“Like I said, sometimes you don’t get it right, but the many times we haven’t got it right, the last thing you want to do is hold yourself back, that’s when you’re not free. I always just try to chase that feeling and chase that mindset in a game; be free, be instinctive, and play eyes-up rugby.”