Watch: Damian McKenzie's top 10 plays of the Super Rugby season
Chiefs and All Blacks dynamo Damian McKenzie was one of the best entertainers in this year’s Super Rugby season. With the Chiefs bowing out to the Hurricanes in Friday night’s quarter final, RugbyPass reviews his top 10 plays of the season.
10. Catch me if you can
Damian McKenzie’s ‘escapability’ is off the charts. Just when you think he’s caught for all money he will slip the tackle and turn nothing into something. It’s becoming a hallmark of his play and what makes him one of the most exciting players in the competition.
In Round 8 against the Hurricanes, the play breaks down as McKenzie is under all sorts of pressure out the back. He beats the rush defender, escaping to the outside and keeps the ball alive. The Chiefs score in the corner at a crucial point in the game to stay in touch.
Despite going on to lose the match, this was a perfect example of his ability to recover from a bad situation and make a play.
9. Counter-attack try vs Sunwolves
As a fullback over the last two seasons, McKenzie routinely dazzled from the back on the counter.
This year was more subdued as he spent more time in the frontline, with Alaimalo emerging as a dangerous return man. On one of the few highlights from the back, McKenzie combines with his brother to turn a sticky situation into a long-range try under the posts.
8. Strip-steal and clearance vs Blues
This won’t make many highlight reels but as a ‘play’ goes, this strip-steal on Blues replacement halfback Sam Nock makes the list due to context.
In Round 3 at Eden Park, both sides were coming off first up losses and desperate to get a conference win. Holding a six-point lead with eight minutes remaining, McKenzie’s defensive kicking game played a massive part in closing out the victory and holding onto the slim lead.
This play was a double whammy, turning over the ball and driving the Blues back deep into their own 22 with a perfectly placed kick. He hit another excellent touch finder with just two minutes remaining, keeping the Blues from having any real try-scoring chance into the final minute.
The Blues butchered the lineout throw but McKenzie’s big kicking plays in the period 15 minutes prior were just as influential at keeping the Blues out.
7. Cat and Mouse vs Barrett
In Round 8 the two All Blacks first fives dueled at the Caketin, with the incumbent Barrett getting the best of McKenzie on the night.
That didn’t stop McKenzie playing Barrett perfectly on this line break assist. The intercept mogul Barrett rushes out of the line looking for a loose pass but McKenzie holds the ball up, delaying the pass to ensure that Barrett overruns it. He hits Johnny Fa’auli in the open running lane left by Barrett’s over-eagerness.
There was a hint of a forward pass but the read and reaction was brilliant from McKenzie.
6. Skinning the Sunwolves
His long passing game got better and better as the season went on, especially on dry tracks with little wind like this day in Tokyo. McKenzie has had problems with intercepts as a result of chancing his arm with massive cutouts.
On this occasion, he skins the Sunwolves down the short side with a rocket straight to the open winger Pulu on the sideline. The fastball puts Pulu in space and he returns the favour by passing back inside for McKenzie to finish off on a beautiful 1-2 play. As the Chiefs smashed the Sunwolves 61-10, he had his best day of the season scoring two tries and laying on two more.
5. Game sealing try vs Waratahs
With time up on the clock, the Chiefs have the lead with one play remaining.
Instead of kicking the ball out, the Chiefs run a switch play from the scrum back to McKenzie to the openside. From a standing start, he beats his man to the outside and scampers around underneath the posts to seal the win and steal the bonus point away from the visiting Waratahs.
4. Two touches, all class
The ability to get up and be involved in multiple phases is a quality that great attacking first-fives possess.
Against the Highlanders in Round 7, McKenzie had one of his best games of the season. With halftime approaching, he starts to get involved more and dictate terms with the defence. On his first touch, he sends Anton Lienert-Brown on a probing run by playing him back inside. He commits the Highlanders defender and takes a shot in the process.
He is able to get back up, return to first receiver and call for the ball on the very next phase. Using front foot ball, he flattens up and puts a chip-kick over to winger Pulu, who bats the ball back in-field to Alaimalo to score.
His lead-up work was exceptional and his side was rewarded with a defining try. The Chiefs took the lead into the break and went onto win the match.
3. No-look cutout pass vs Highlanders
There are very few humans who can fire a 25-metre rainbow left-to-right and hit the runner on the chest. McKenzie is one of them.
When you consider the pressure he is under on this play, it makes it even better. Without having any time to sight his target, he turns and fires all in one motion, hitting Liam Messam out wide in space. The degree of difficulty involved is monumental, and this highlight starts to reach video-game levels. This is unreal.
2. Over-the-top Basketball pass vs Blues
Heading into the return derby against the Blues in Round 8, Tana Umaga’s men were under immense pressure to get a win against a New Zealand side. The Chiefs were decimated by injuries and it looked like finally happening.
In the opening stanza, McKenzie sparked the Chiefs early with two quality touches in this wide movement, backing up a long pass with an over-the-top basketball assist to a flying Sean Wainui. In a tight contest, this big play ended up playing a role as the Chiefs came away with a tight 21-19 win.
1. Behind the back and follow-up try vs Brumbies
This was again another example of two classy back-to-back touches and striking while the iron is hot.
This outlandish behind the back ball to halfback Brad Weber takes the cake for Damian McKenzie’s top Super Rugby plays of 2018. In full stride, the playmaker has the audacity to throw a ‘globetrotter’ ball before getting hammered. With the Chiefs having made the initial break, McKenzie works back to get another touch and finds himself with two lumbering forwards still retreating.
With a touch of acceleration, the playmaker breaks through the reaching grasp of the Brumbies defender and runs away to finish off the movement.
Comments on RugbyPass
I’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
139 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
139 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
139 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
139 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
139 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
139 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
139 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
139 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
139 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
139 Go to commentsHo hum.
139 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
139 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
139 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
139 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
139 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
139 Go to comments