'The best I've seen him play': How McKenzie stole the show vs Crusaders
All Blacks greats Israel Dagg and Justin Marshall have praised Chiefs playmaker Damian McKenzie for his scintillating performance in the No. 10 jersey on Friday.
If the history books are anything to go by, then one truth remains consistent in Super Rugby year-to-year.
Without a doubt, the hardest place to win is Christchurch; the home of the champion Crusaders.
After six Super Rugby titles in as many years, Scott Robertson and co entered the new campaign as the heavy favourites. The Crusaders seem to thrive on the pressure and expectation that continues to weigh on their shoulders – it doesn’t bother them, usually.
But led by star flyhalf Damian McKenzie, who has returned to New Zealand following a stint in Japan, the Chiefs shocked the world as they ran rampant against the Crusaders.
McKenzie was at his best at Orangetheory Stadium in round one as the visitors scored 24 unanswered points, and registered an incredible 31-10 win to open their account for the season.
Rugby World Cup winning All Black Israel Dagg believes McKenzie “absolutely nailed” his role on Friday night.
“All the eyes were on Damian McKenzie and seeing how he could take to that 10 position and I thought he absolutely nailed it and potentially outplayed Richie Mo’unga,” Dagg told SENZ Breakfast.
“I thought Damian showed great signs going forward to the future that it more than capable of taking that 10 jersey.”
McKenzie, who has played 40 Test matches for the All Blacks, took his game to an all-new level on Friday night.
From the opening couple of minutes where he showcased his kicking game, the 27-year-old had fans and commentators in awe.
The utility back finished with an 11-point haul – which was of course one point more than the Crusaders’ total.
Former All Blacks scrumhalf Justin Marshall also sang McKenzie’s praises on SENZ, saying it wa s probably “the best I’ve seen him play in that jersey.”
“I think (that was) probably the best I’ve seen him play in that jersey in a big match,” Marshall told SENZ’s The Rugby Run.
“Obviously he can open games up regardless when he’s in that jersey but when it comes to big crunch matches against very good opposition and good defensive sides, that’s when your true metal is tested.
“His kicking strategy was really good; when he needed to sit back a bit and find space he did, when he needed to kick long he kicked long well, when he needed it to be competitive in the air he did that as well.
“He was getting outside the fourth or fifth defender of the Crusaders quite comfortably and opening up the field.
“That’s what he’s so very good at, so the Chiefs’ pattern very much revolved around that.”
After opening their regular season with a stunning victory, the Chiefs will look to keep the good times rolling as they prepare to face Moana Pasifika in Melbourne.
Super Rugby heads across the ditch for Super Round, with all 12 teams set to take the field across three days.
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Skelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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