Crusaders crash Damian’s party
Damian McKenzie scored all the Chiefs’ points but will rue missing three penalties as their dream run ended.
If Damian McKenzie had been spotted waltzing down Addington Road before last night’s Super Rugby Aotearoa final, customers in the local watering holes may have wondered if he was preparing to go racing in the street.
With his ragged mullet and seemingly carefree attitude, McKenzie could fit the description of those folks who like to clamber into their motors and hunt for action on the bitumen.
McKenzie was in the mood to spin his wheels, but not around the avenues of Christchurch.
He had work to do for the Chiefs. And it was to be a busy night for the fullback/first fiveeighth who had rediscovered his mojo under interim coach Clayton McMillan, and had been instrumental in the team’s remarkable turnaround in SRA.
It would be nonsense to say McKenzie was the sole reason the Chiefs had qualified to meet the Crusaders for the showdown at Orangetheory Stadium, but he certainly helped McMillan solve the puzzle on how to get the best of his squad.
The last time the Chiefs played in Christchurch on March 13 had been a disaster; the Crusaders played the role of taxidermist as they ruthlessly thumped the visitors 39-17, which forced them to reflect on an 11th straight loss.
McMillan should have looked like a bloke who had just had his fingers jammed between the spokes of a spinning wheel after that. Yet he was remarkably calm. He politely sucked-up the media’s questions about the record-equalling losing streak, and declined to make excuses or throw any players under the bus.
Perhaps McMillan knew something we didn’t — the Chiefs secured five victories to surge into the final, to enter a 12-round fight against the heavyweights of Super Rugby. McKenzie, though, could never be put in that weight bracket. Listed at 78kg, he has had to rely on street smarts, courage, his speed and athleticism to survive.
And he got put through the wringer by the Crusaders. In front of 17,100 fans, McKenzie threw himself about like a plastic bag drifting in a nor’ wester.
There was no shortage of desire to put himself in harm’s way. The yellow card to Crusaders hooker Codie Taylor, for taking a flying McKenzie in the air after he secured a long throw off a lineout, was warranted.
McKenzie had to stretch out to score the Chiefs’ opening try