Mckenzie to start in Bledisloe Cup test
Damian Mckenzie is a shock selection at fullback as the All Blacks try to add a darker shade of grey to the gloomy clouds hanging over Australian rugby.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has made six changes to the side that drew 15-15 with the British and Irish Lions in the third test in Auckland on July 8, with Mckenzie emerging as the biggest winner after the selectors elected to revamp their back three for the match against the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday night.
While Liam Squire is another surprise inclusion, named at blindside flanker ahead of veteran Jerome Kaino, few could dispute the fact that Mckenzie must be wearing the widest smile among the All Blacks.
Given Hansen and his fellow selectors could have picked Ben Smith or Israel Dagg, both established test players, to start at fullback the addition of Mckenzie, who has played just two tests, will cause most of the discussion among Kiwi fans.
Smith has been named on the right wing, with Rieko Ioane, who wasn’t picked for the last test against the Lions because of illness, filling the No 11 jersey.
Mckenzie, 22, was initially listed in the squad as a replacement player for Smith, who will take a sabbatical after the Bledisloe Cup matches in Sydney and Dunedin. It is likely the plan was to give him some minutes later in the Rugby Championship, once Smith had gone on holiday, but clearly there has been a radical change in thinking.
No doubt the season-ending injury to Jordie Barrett has given the selectors reason to change direction in terms of future planning, and they believe Mckenzie, an electric counter-attacker who could thrive on the hard ground at
ANZ Stadium, will add energy and enterprise from the back.
Dagg, who played all three tests against the Lions and was involved in the Crusaders’ Super Rugby playoff games, has not been listed in the match-day 23.
His four-match ban completed, Sonny Bill Williams will be expected to direct his fury in a more clinical manner when he starts alongside Ryan Crotty in the midfield.
His red card for smashing Anthony Watson cost the All Blacks dearly in Wellington; reduced to 14 men for 55 minutes, they eventually succumbed to a 24-21 defeat in the dying minutes and it proved a defining moment in the drawn series.
You wonder whether the Australian Rugby Union have mixed feelings about Williams starting. While they will acknowledge that he provides menace and power to the New Zealanders’ backline, he is also a valuable drawcard for a match that is struggling to get much profile in Australia.
With Aussie rugby in such a woeful state, the fact that five Super Rugby teams lost all 26 games to their Kiwi counterparts has been the tip of the iceberg, expectations are low.