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Six Nations statement: Tom Curry 'Tunnelgate' incident
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Please don't run around in circles Damian McKenzie
Damian McKenzie doesn’t have to win the game single-handed. He just needs to find a way not to lose it.
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If the mercurial playmaker can learn anything from being benched for the matches against Australia and England, it’s that Beauden Barrett didn’t overplay his hand.
Barrett, who was picked at first five-eighth ahead of McKenzie for those tests, really didn’t do a lot in either.
I personally prefer to see him challenge the defensive line himself, rather than speculatively kick towards the flanks, but that’s a relatively minor quibble.
Barrett was more of a facilitator in those tests. Someone inclined to steer the team towards the parts of the paddock they want to play from, then allow others to try and create with ball in hand.
Concussion protocols mean Barrett’s absent for this highly-anticipated clash with Ireland in Dublin, requiring McKenzie to again run the cutter.
“D-Mac is D-Mac. You get a bit of everything from him. But, when he’s on, he’s world class and shows some great touches,’’ All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson said of the returning McKenzie.
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Actually, Scott, I don’t want a bit of everything. Nor do I want ‘some’ great touches.
I just want a first five-eighth that doesn’t stuff things up for everyone else.
Look, there’s a very fine line between giving a guy like McKenzie confidence and letting him run amok.
I get that coaches don’t like to say or do things that undermine a player’s belief and that they want them to feel supported and free to express themselves.
It’s just that McKenzie’s idea of expression has often been to run around in circles.
Ireland and Dublin isn’t really an occasion to play off-the-cuff and, actually, I’m quite sure it would be counter-productive.
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Not least because the team doesn’t actually need it or benefit from it.
I doubt McKenzie will be playing behind a beaten pack, at the Aviva Stadium. I doubt he’ll have to resort to pulling rabbits out of hats in order for the All Blacks to generate points.
If there has been an area of real improvement in the team this year, it’s come in the forwards. There is genuine vigour among the ball carriers, which Barrett has been the beneficiary of in recent times.
All McKenzie has to do is follow the game plan, kick his goals and the result should take care of itself, on one proviso.
The All Blacks’ set pieces have to stand up.
Hooker Asafo Aumua has to be better acquainted with the lineout calls and then hit the intended target. At the moment, he appears incapable of throwing anywhere other than the front, which Ireland will be well aware of.
Tamaiti Williams could be a walking penalty at scrum time. England exposed his inability to keep his side up and, if he keeps hitting the deck in Dublin, Ireland will get opportunities to kick points.
If the supply of ball from set pieces becomes irregular or scrappy, then McKenzie is going to start to scramble and, to me, that marks the beginning of the end.
I really fancy the All Blacks in this game. I think we’ve seen enough from the forwards against England and the Wallabies to suggest they’ll more than compete with Ireland.
If not for some of the dopey stuff McKenzie did, the All Blacks would have beaten the Springboks in South Africa a couple of times this season, thanks to how well the forwards played.
Barrett’s given McKenzie a blueprint of how to play now: kick well, get others into the contest and win the game three points at a time.
There will always be counter-attacking opportunities to score tries, so you don’t need to try and conjure them from thin air.
It’s been back to basics for the All Blacks in recent weeks and that’s all they need from McKenzie.
