McKenzie ‘learning from mistakes’

Just about every rugby fiend from Whangarei to Invercargill has given their two cents on Damian McKenzie’s transition from fullback to first five-eighth with the Chiefs, but the man in question will only get better by making mistakes along the way.

As the Chiefs played the fifth match of their season, when beating the Highlanders 27-22 in Hamilton on Friday, McKenzie added another 80 minutes of experience wearing the No 10 jersey in Super Rugby against a fellow New Zealand side, so time in the saddle far more valuable than running riot as the 22-year-old All Black did against the Sunwolves a week earlier.

The Chiefs won 61-10 in Tokyo and McKenzie then faced a Highlanders side who could at least close him down - the Sunwolves failed to ever really get near him - and the men from the deep south certainly turned up the heat on the livewire playmaker. McKenzie produced some flashes of brilliance against the Highlanders with those trademark scything runs and in effortlessly freeing up space for his team-mates, but some panicked, frenetic plays and a few charged down kicks in the second half were coach killers.

The Chiefs had to dig really deep and just about held on to celebrate Sam Cane’s 100th match for the franchise with their fourth victory of the season.

McKenzie wears his heart on his sleeve on the field, often defying belief with the intensity he runs at when steaming into far bigger blokes, but he’s understanding that playing with such vigour also requires measured calm when running the show at first-five. “I’m starting to get more comfortable each week in the new role at 10 and I’m really enjoying it,” he said at Chiefs training on Monday.

“I’m always learning each week and it’s good being able to do that, learning from your mistakes, and there are things to work on.

“It’s a different role and you’ve got to be more calm compared to 15 when you can sort of do your own thing.”-Rugby