SPEED MERCHANTS

who started at No 15 when the All Blacks’ A-listers beat the Wallabies 37-20 in Yokohama on October 27, permitted to back himself if he sees space.

It was Hansen himself who once described McKenzie as a ‘‘fly in the bottle’’, his way of saying you take the rough with the smooth with his option-taking.

No doubt the selectors would argue McKenzie is a more reliable model now, and clearly they were encouraged by the way he helped take the pressure off Barrett in Yokohama as a second playmaker.

‘‘Everybody in our team has a clear licence to play what is in front of them,’’ Hansen said. ‘‘That is how I got brought up playing. The opposition tell you what you can do, and can’t do. So my expectation is that if it’s on to counter, then we counter.

‘‘If it is not on, then we don’t. Damian doesn’t miss too many opportunities. He likes it, so we are assuming we will see it at some point.’’

The All Blacks, here visiting the workshop of Formula One team McLaren in Woking yesterday, aim to turn on the speed with their selection to play England in London this weekend. GETTY IMAGES