McKenzie ready for return
All Blacks utility Damian McKenzie is set to make his return from injury in the Chiefs’ Super Rugby pre-season match against the Blues in Waihi today.
The playmaker has been out of action for nine months, after suffering a ruptured ACL in his right knee against, ironically, the Blues, in Hamilton on April 13.
It was a bitter blow for the 24-yearold, with the injury not only forcing him out of the remainder of the Chiefs’ campaign, but also ruling him out of a debut World Cup campaign with the All Blacks, for whom he had already notched 23 tests.
But after surgery and rehabilitation, he has been back into training with the Chiefs, and coach Warren Gatland said his livewire fullback/first five-eighth will get some minutes in what is the team’s sole warmup match, then should be ready to tackle the Blues again in the season-opener at Eden Park on January 31.
‘‘He’s been managed well by the medical team, he’s up and training fully, he’s going to take a little bit of game time tomorrow in the game against the Blues, and then take part in some scenario situations next week,’’ Gatland said yesterday.
‘‘So he should be fit and available for selection in that opening game against the Blues.’’
McKenzie has been a vital part of the Chiefs’ plans ever since his debut in
2015. He’s now played 72 Super Rugby games and is one of the most dynamic players in the competition.
And it’s fullback where he’s set to resume his career. Following Aaron Cruden’s departure to France, McKenzie stepped into the first-five role in 2018, then also at the start of last year, before it was decided he would be better utilised in the No 15 jersey, where he indeed shone, before injury.
Gatland is open to both options, but with Cruden having returned on a oneseason deal before heading to Japan, it does make his decision easier.
‘‘It’s a matter of talking to the player,’’ he said. ‘‘At the moment he’s coming back and looking to start at fullback. There’s no reason why in the future he couldn’t go back and play at
10. If you’re looking at him from a personal point of view, there’s probably an opportunity at a higher level in the All Blacks, with Ben Smith having left New Zealand, for Damian to play at 15.
‘‘But it’s about us having a conversation about what he wants out of his game and what’s best for him as an individual, but also about what’s best for the Chiefs as a team.’’
McKenzie hasn’t had far to look for advice on returning from a serious injury, with Sam Cane – who yesterday was appointed as the team’s captain for
2020 – revealing the pair had compared a few notes recently, following his own return last year after eight months out with a neck injury.
‘‘I wouldn’t say we’ve had a real formal chat about it, I think it might have been over a beer over summer we might have had a wee chat, and I said for me, personally, it was just about getting that first one under the belt without putting too much expectation or pressure on yourself,’’ Cane said.
‘‘And, to be fair, you’ve just got to trust the medical staff that whatever injury you’ve got, they won’t send you out there unless you’re right to play. So having that mental capacity to get over that, put that to one side, and just rip into it, there’s no point holding back.’’
The Chiefs won’t be entering round one with their full complement of All Blacks, though, with hooker Nathan Harris to be sidelined for some time following surgery for a shoulder injury picked up during the Mitre 10 Cup, and loose forward Luke Jacobson eyeing a round-three return, having been a late withdrawal from the World Cup with concussion.