ANALYSIS: It took Damian McKenzie a whopping 22 seconds to make sure Ian Foster hadn’t fallen into a Saturday night’s sleep at FMG Stadium Waikato.
Heck, the All Blacks coach might not even have taken his seat before the Chiefs talisman put on a brilliantly weighted grubber for Emoni Narawa to sensationally open the scoring in the thrilling 20-13 Super Rugby Pacific victory against the Blues in Hamilton.
About 80 minutes later, and Foster must have not only checked that he still had McKenzie’s numbers in his phone, but also thought about the stash of acetaminophen in his bathroom cabinet.
The beleaguered mentor of the national team may have run out of supplies in recent months, but now comes another headache he must fight in his final hurray at the helm – the all-important No. 10 position.
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Because after missing out on last year’s testing program when he spent a season in Japan, McKenzie should now certainly enter the conversation as the starting top five for the All Blacks at this year’s World Cup.
After beating Richie Mo’unga in the opening round victory in Christchurch, the 40-Test dynamo has now comfortably outmaneuvered Beauden Barrett as well, having expertly led the Chiefs to a sixth victory on the trot in this stellar start to the season. The season.
On a wet Hamilton evening – conditions not exactly designed for the McKenzie’s x-factor running game – the 27-year-old proved what Barrett, and many others, have failed to do, and that is to return from an OE an improved player.
Jeremy Ward/Photosport
Damian McKenzie blasts away from Beauden Barrett in the Chiefs’ close victory over the Blues in Hamilton.
With game management always being the question mark for the twinkling-toe livewire, despite his history through the ranks as a No. 10, the 101-game Chiefs playmaker showed he does indeed have the nous, the calm head and the ability to produce on the main stage when presented with a pressure cooker-type game.
After immediately rousing the 15,108 spectators with his cunning opening effort, McKenzie went on to mix a smart boot in open grass with his silky smooth stride and speed, not to mention brilliant composure off the tee.
All this while Barrett got off to a rather shocking start.
After making a conversion low and wide, the veteran All Black soon after unfathomably bombed a try by kicking on the dead-ball line. Was the missed kick still in his head? Most likely, and the 31-year-old got too greedy, under Tupou Vaa’i’s laudatory pressure on his ankles.
That brain blast still lingering in his head, Barrett proceeded to send another stinker off the tee as he tried to convert from across the field to his earlier miss.
All the while, as if to rub it in, even McKenzie, with that trademark grin, was nailing everything. Those four of the four included an epic 52 yards for the opening points of the second half, in the 46th minute.
HEAVEN SPORT
Blues playmaker Beauden Barrett bungles a simple effort against the Chiefs by inexplicably stepping on the dead ball line.
There were a few mutual moments where the grin would have been internal as well.
Once Barrett kicked, McKenzie rallied, stepped his opponent, then intelligently kicked wide open to the side and forced Stephen Perofeta. On another, Barrett chipped, and although he went past McKenzie, he didn’t panic, turned, retrieved and seared past his rival on a tremendous attack down the left.
Although there was a full lunge, McKenzie immediately followed up the foul with a huge hit on a rampaging Rieko Ioane to force a dropped ball onto the goal line.
At 1.75m and 81kg, McKenzie’s frame has often been a reservation for some, but he’s far from shying away from work without a ball. In a game where his side had only 40% possession and 39% territory, he finished with 12 tackles (for a single miss) – matching Brodie Retallick, and tied for second for the game.
There was plenty to play for in this latest installment of the Battle of the Bombays, and McKenzie certainly made sure he didn’t miss his chance.