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Damian McKenzie hints at Super Rugby return
By Online Editors
Chiefs playmaker Damian McKenzie is hopeful that he's halfway through his mandatory stand down period from Super Rugby this season.
The electric 23-year-old sat out his side's 30-27 defeat to the Highlanders in their season-opener last week with an ankle strain, but is expected to be back this weekend as the Chiefs travel to Canberra to face the Brumbies.
McKenzie, along with other All Blacks in World Cup contention, are expected to sit out two of their franchise's 16 Super Rugby matches this season as part of a World Cup preservation plan, and he hopes that last week's injury lay-off contributed to his stand down period.
"I hope so – hopefully that's one out of two down," he said to Fairfax.
"Hopefully I can play through a few more games and just have one more off, whenever that may be."
The 23-test utility back said the team's medical staff played a large role in determining how inured All Blacks will be managed throughout the World Cup year.
"I guess it's totally up to how I'm feeling and the medical staff," he said.
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So if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
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