Oh no Nehe, not again
It’s a quote too good to bury.
‘‘He’s a little bit like a fly in a bottle, old Damian. He’s all over the place and sometimes it comes off and sometimes he’s hitting the side of the bottle.’’
No prizes for guessing it was Steve Hansen doing the talking, or that fullback Damian McKenzie was the subject. And not a bad description, either.
There’s a definite buzz around a ground every time McKenzie gets the football and his involvement in New Zealand’s 25-24 win over South Africa in Cape Town was generally of the highest quality. It’s all part of a process he and the national coaches quietly working their way through.
"He’s getting better and better at it though . . . as he understands what rugby’s about,’’ said Hansen.
‘‘I thought he was pretty good tonight, he was really assured in the things he was doing.
‘‘There’s been times when I don’t think he’s known what he was going to do, he just did it. But tonight I thought he was really calculated in most of the things he did’’
This led to an interesting admission from Hansen.
‘‘I’m on record saying he’s probably going to be a better 10 than a 15, but he’s starting to tell me that might not be right.’’
McKenzie played the second half at Newlands on the right wing, after Nehe Milner-Skudder dislocated his right shoulder. Surgery tends to be the prognosis in the bulk of these situations and the luckless Hurricane would likely face at least six months out, in that case.
He did his left shoulder in 2016, before suffering foot fractures in his return to action this year.
With him gone, you assume Waisake Naholo will start in that spot against Australia in Brisbane on October 21. If further reinforcements are required, it will be interesting to see if Hansen turns to Julian Savea, or leaves him to work on his form and confidence with Wellington.
As for the man who plays in No 11 for the All Blacks these days, you’d have to say the form’s pretty good. Rieko Ioane scored one try at Newlands, nearly had another, and continues to trouble most defences he comes up against. ‘‘He’s a good player, isn’t he, and that’s what his job’s about,’’ said Hansen.
‘‘There’s some other things we’d like him to do as well, on top of that, so we need to add things to his game, but you can’t complain about when he’s got the ball in his hand, because he’s pretty special,’’ Hansen said.
‘‘His mum and dad, and the god Lord above, have given him pace and that has been the ruination of a lot of rugby players, not having it, [including] one of them talking to you now.’’