42 - 12

94 - 33

22 - 16

22 - 26

5 - 26

41 - 15

31 - 29

17 - 39

36 - 25

47 - 0

18 - 15

50 - 28

21 - 34

35 - 50

24 - 47

19 - 14

54 - 19

24 - 19

69 - 12

45 - 19

33 - 36

42 - 35

37 - 32

25 - 73

41 - 24

68 - 14

35 - 35

30 - 14

24 - 17

43 - 28

24 - 43

WOMENS

54 - 5

WOMENS

33 - 47

28 - 43

WOMENS

38 - 10

Super Rugby Pacific

Jeff Wilson: 'He will change the way the All Blacks play'

Henry Lee

4 hours ago

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 28: Kyren Taumoefolau of the Chiefs high fives Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs after the win during the round seven Super Rugby match between Western Force and Chiefs at HBF Park, on March 28, 2026, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by James Worsfold/Getty Images)

Former All Black winger Jeff Wilson is confident in Damian McKenzie’s ability to change the way Dave Rennie’s side will attack in 2026, after the head coach witnessed the Super Rugby Pacific clash on Friday night.

McKenzie went off with a head knock in the Chiefs’ comfortable 42-12 victory over the Highlanders in Hamilton, on a night where livewire winger Caleb Tangitau also went down with an injury.

Tangitau’s injury is confirmed to be an achilles rupture, resulting a lengthy recovery, while McKenzie’s concussion would likely keep him our for weeks, not months.

With Rennie in the country while his Kobelco Kobe Steelers side are on a bye, awaiting finals, discussion has centred on post-round 14, as to who impressed and who may miss out on the first All Blacks squad of 2026.

The incoming All Blacks coach spoke to Sky Sport post-match in Hamilton, making it clear what style of play and type of player he’s looking for.

VIDEO

“Work ethic, so I know when guys do a few flash things, a lot of commentators and various people get excited by it, but we’re looking for repeat efforts, and we need some big shifts in some places,” Rennie said on Sky Sport.

“Last year I think the All Blacks scored three tries from counter attack and three from turnover attack, and so we want to change the mindset around that and have some accountability around it.”

Based off his comments, Wilson believes the best backline combination is with the Chiefs’ first-five at fullback and Crusaders fullback Will Jordan on the right wing.

“I think Damian McKenzie is the player that he’s talking about, and focusing on where his role might be with the All Blacks,” Wilson said on The Breakdown.

“We got hung up on this playing with the double pivot mentality. These guys are first fives, and they’re playing at fullback. This guy can play fullback, he drops back there. He is actually good in the air, he’s a good athlete.

“I love it when he drops back there for the Chiefs. For me, he will change the way the All Blacks play, and that wing discussion now that the likes of Caleb Tangitau was ruled out, who for me was going to be one of the All Black wingers.

“I think we can have Will Jordan back on the wing. I think that would suit our game. It would still have him having plenty of impact and an opportunity to play well.”

For the much-talked-about first-five battle, the 60-Test former All Black is leaning towards Hurricanes playmaker Ruben Love as the front-runner.

“And I tell you what, Ruben Love is my first five right now. I’m happy with that combination of players, you put some really good and solid midfield around them, and two wingers that can work hard off the ball.

“Will Jordan is still going to be a match winner from the wing.”

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Comments

1 Comment

Spew_81 1 hr ago

McKenzie is not a good enough traditional 10 to be a successful test 10. At best McKenzie is the 15 in a 10/15 dual playmaker set up (unsure if he’s even up to test level as a starting test 15 – probably best as a utility). McKenzie has been given many opportunities at 10, especially in 2024. But he couldn’t quite adjust his game enough.

Love should be the 10. He has room to grow for RWC 2027. What better environment to test him than a tour to South Africa? J Barrett has grown into a second playmaker role (wherever Rennie plays him).

A dual playmaker set up is a logical response to the improvements that rugby defense has made in the last decade. But a dual playmaker set up hasn’t delivered, for the All Blacks, in the big matches, because they were not executed properly.

The reason why ‘rush defenses’ are so successful is the key to beating them. That they ‘swamp a specific area of the field, taking the ‘time’ away from the attack and removing options. But a team can only have 15 players on the field. If the defence ‘swamps’ one area, another area is wide open.

This is what the dual playmaker set up was trying to exploit. The issue was the execution. The opportunity needs to been seen and the ball passed to the right gap. The dual playmaker set up was often two 10/15 hybrids, with neither being a true expert playmaker/passer. Both were outstanding broken field runners (who also tended to move horizontally). That worked fine if the opposition defense line wasn’t set, but the issue was defense lines were set, and more prepared than ever.

They key to a dual playmaker set up is a traditional playmaking 10, at 10. A 10 with all the skills, but passing as the key skill. Even when they tried more traditional 10 at 10. There were still issues as they weren’t sure who was the boss of the backline; and the coaches never fully committed until too late.

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