McKenzie feeling ‘strong’ as Blues topple Chiefs
All Blacks playmaker Damian McKenzie has made a successful return from injury in the Chiefs’ Super Rugby preseason game against the Blues in Waihi.
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 yesterday in front of a sold-out crowd of close to 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.
From there, there were also clear signs his vision and distribution was in good order, and the Chiefs scored two of their three tries during his cameo on the park.
McKenzie said he couldn’t have asked for more than being out on a club ground, under beautiful skies, and just getting a few touches of the ball in dusting off the cobwebs.
‘‘It was great,’’ he said. ‘‘Obviously the lungs were blowing a bit – match fitness is a completely different thing compared to just running along the line.
‘‘I had my blinkers on and my earmuffs on a few times, it was just nice to get a few good carries early on. It was exciting to be out there, obviously a great crowd here in Waihi. So it was awesome to be back out on the pitch.’’
McKenzie said he was thankful to the medical team and trainers for how much work they had put in to getting him back, after what was the first real setback in a burgeoning career that has seen him amass 72 caps for the Chiefs since 2015, along with 23 tests for the All Blacks since 2016.
‘‘It feels really strong, I’m really happy with it,’’ he said of the knee.
‘‘Obviously my first real injury so it was a mental challenge to come back, and it really puts some perspective on what it’s like to be injured and watching from the sideline, which was tough.
‘‘But, look, it made me more hungry to come back.’’
Chiefs coach Warren Gatland was suitably impressed by what he saw out of his star man, who should be all set for round one in a fortnight’s time. ‘‘He looked confident,’’ Gatland said. ‘‘We just wanted to give him 20 minutes to get out there. You can see what sort of impact he’s going to have in a few weeks when he starts having some more game time and he starts getting aerobically fit. So we’ve just got to make sure that we’re smart and look after him.’’
This was the sole pre-season game for the Chiefs, before the January 31 season-opener against the Blues at Eden Park, as next Friday they will run an inter-squad game in Hamilton.
Gatland was buoyed by what he saw in his first task in charge, noting there were a few scrum issues to tidy up but that ‘‘a massive positive’’ was that 13 forwards experienced their first outing for the franchise.
His side showed plenty of creativity on attack, though some of their offloading saw them come unstuck, and the Blues struck with mostly closerange strikes, which didn’t faze Gatland too much.
‘‘There was nothing that the Blues did today from an attacking perspective that we would take away and be worried about,’’ he said.
However, the Blues will be similarly positive about their defensive efforts – including being without the ball inside their own half for almost the entire first 10 minutes – being the thing coach Leon MacDonald was most pleased with.
‘‘I think at times some of our defence was outstanding, we showed a lot of guts there and got really physical,’’ he said.
More importantly than the scoreline, there were no notable injuries for either side out of the game.
MacDonald did note there was a rib issue for first five-eighth Otere Black, but didn’t think it was of too much concern.
Next Friday the Blues have a hitout against the Hurricanes on the North Shore, before hosting that competition opener against the Chiefs the following week.