McKenzie shines on return
All Blacks playmaker Damian McKenzie has made a successful return from injury in the Chiefs’ Super Rugby pre-season game against the Blues in Waihi on Friday.
Taking the park for the first time in nine months after suffering a ruptured ACL during last year’s campaign, the 24-year-old got through a busy 20 minutes in hot, sunny conditions in front of a soldout crowd of almost 4000 at the Waihi Athletic Rugby Club.
Entering the fray straight after halftime in the four-quarter fixture, which the Blues won 26-19, McKenzie, with his right knee heavily strapped, slotted in at fullback and gave an immediate reminder of what both the Chiefs and All Blacks had missed in his stint on the sidelines.
Scampering back to collect a kick, the livewire utility’s first touch saw him produce a lovely pirouette and burst of pace down the touchline, before steaming into heavy contact, and bouncing out of that fine.
There were also clear signs his vision and distribution was in good order, and the Chiefs scored two of their three tries while he was on the park.
After defending inside their own half for almost the entire first 10 minutes, the Blues opened the scoring soon afterwards via hooker Kurt Eklund from a lineout drive. While the Chiefs showed plenty of creativity in their attack, some of their offloading saw them come unstuck, and, with a handy breeze behind them, the Blues dotted down twice in the second quarter – through prop Ezekiel Lindenmuth and fullback Matt Duffie – to take a 17-0 lead to halftime.
The Chiefs hit back with tries to lock Naitoa Ah Kuoi and hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, then flanker Hoskins Sotutu responded for the Blues, before Taukei’aho grabbed his second in the final minutes.
The teams will reconvene in a fortnight’s time, when they meet each other in the season opener at Eden Park on January 31.